Shadow Puppet (A Sasori Story)
by goddamndamndamn
Summary: Kinda does what it says on the tin. I don't own anything to do with Naruto, etc. So enjoy.
1. Chapter 1

Sasori could remember that night in perfect detail.

So much about it had been special in some way. What had generally gone on had changed a lot of things, and certain circumstances in his life had already been at turning points. All in all, it meant it had been an overall occurrence that wasn't hard for him to recall, even as time passed. Whether it was one year or one decade, the memory didn't fade in the slightest bit for Sasori. All he needed to do was think about it; send his mind back to that place and time and everything simply came back to him. He never forgot anything about it, but of course…he didn't want to.

He'd been fourteen and a half to the day, still living in Sunagakure with his grandmother. He was a member of the puppet corps, and he had a lot planned for himself. The death of his parents had always marred his life, and that fact hadn't changed in the present time. He'd been working on a lot of things—he just had to carry them all out, and that included turning himself into a puppet and killing the Third Kazekage. Once that was all completed, he would be leaving Sunagakure without a regret; without a glance behind him to think about what—or who—he was leaving behind. That would be in the past. He would have other things to think about, and Sasori had never been one to live in the past. Overall…he just didn't like to think about it. As such, he'd concentrate on the present and what he was doing now. After all, he was impatient and didn't like to wait; so to have to do so before carrying out his plans…it wasn't something Sasori liked doing.

Still; it wasn't like he had much of a choice. He needed to be ready.

He'd been going for a walk late at night. No one was around, the lights of every building dead and gone, silence having taken over the village like a mist, wrapping around the very atmosphere. It hadn't bothered Sasori, however, and as such he continued on as normal, casually ambling along through the streets. If anything, he enjoyed the quiet of the night and the emptiness of the village. He didn't have to deal with anyone else, alone in his thoughts—the way he liked it. There hadn't been a particular reason for the walk, he had just decided on it. Most of the time he spent his free time working on his puppets; on himself, or making sure he would be ready for his fight with the Third Kazekage. But like it had meant to be, tonight he had chosen to head out to think.

And that's when he'd seen the girl.

Having reached the area near the gates of the village, Sasori had noted they were open. Narrowing his eyes, he had shaken it off; evidently someone was coming back from a mission—though why it would be this late, he didn't know. But still, there had to be a reason, so he let it be, going on with his walk as if nothing was wrong. His curiosity wouldn't allow him to completely turn away, however; instead he found himself going closer, fully heading towards the gates in order to get a glimpse of what was going on. He kept to the shadows, not about to reveal himself, but this way he might find out why this had happened. Sasori tried to remain rational in his thoughts, and for the most part, succeeded; yet he pushed on, keeping his eyes peeled for the answer to his questioning mind.

Then a moment later he found what he was looking for—though it wasn't quite what he was expecting. Then again, what it was he had been expecting, Sasori wasn't sure. But still, this was unlike anything that might have been running through his head, and he slowed to a halt, simply observing for the moment, unsure what to do. He hadn't prepared himself for this result. In his mind, Sasori had anticipated it to be a Sunagakure ninja coming back from a mission. An ANBU member even, on a high ranked and secret mission that no one but the Kazekage would know about. As such Sasori would have watched them go through the village and up to the Kage's building, and that would be it, simple as. But now…he didn't know.

The girl was walking towards the village having entered through the gates as casually as anything. Narrowing his eyes at her image, Sasori was certain he'd never seen her before in Sunagakure, and definitely knew she wasn't a ninja from the village. Obviously she was a stranger, but she wasn't normal. All her circumstances were unusual. She arrived in the dead of night, alone and unmarked, seemingly without anyone knowing of her approach or arrival? And even the way she was; the way she acted and behaved…something just wasn't right. Sasori noted as she went on walking towards the village that she walked slowly; almost dragging her feet as she went. What she was doing here, Sasori didn't have a clue—but he was going to do something about it. Having had the gates open for her instead of having snuck in, things were surely amiss.

Finally beginning to move once more, Sasori headed over to her, though felt his pace slow as he got closer. She was beautiful, he couldn't deny it; with big brown eyes, full lips and a small, delicate nose, all strangely perfectly symmetrical—like she had been made artificially instead of naturally. Her ash brown hair was shoulder length with a full fringe, braided into a plait that hung over her right shoulder. But she clearly wasn't at full health; her eyes were glassy and her pupils dilated; her plait was barely hanging together, her hair generally mussed up. She was pale and thin, with rings under her eyes, her clothes torn and dirty. How she had ended up like she had, Sasori didn't know—but a part of him felt sorry for her. He couldn't help but dislike the idea of her looking like this; but he forced himself to dismiss it, coming to a halt in front of her to bar her way, stopping her from going any further as he growled,

"Where the hell are you from? How the hell did you get in?"

"I…I don't know where I'm from…I just opened the gates, turned invisible…and walked in…" she responded softly, slowly lifting her gaze to meet his, Sasori caught in the strange innocence in her voice and eyes.

Yet at the same time, she wasn't innocent at all—she couldn't be, not with those incredible abilities she'd just described. Not to mention she'd done all of it while in the state she was in. Sasori couldn't help but feel that she'd walked through the whole desert without food or water—and yet somehow she was still alive. And no one was with her, so she had to have done it alone. All in all, her abilities drew Sasori in, interesting and impressing him. He was making human puppets; about to leave Sunagakure after all his plans were completed…suddenly other ideas began to form in his mind, prompting him to soften slightly, stating gently,

"Why don't you come with me? I can help you."

And he could. By turning her into a puppet, he could take away the pain she must be feeling; the weaknesses that the human body possessed. Not to mention he could truly make use of her amazing abilities, preserving not only them, but she herself in the process. It would be good to add another puppet to his collection—and she'd certainly make a beautiful looking puppet. From the way she had appeared in the village, it was clear she didn't have anyone in terms of family or general ties to this world; no one would miss her. And with how she had appeared this late at night, no one would know. If they saw him use her in battle, he would just say she was from a mission he'd gone on.

So he had to hold back a smirk as she eventually nodded slowly in agreement at his offer.


	2. Chapter 2

Managing to turn it into a warm smile, Sasori placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as a sign of reassurance and gestured in the direction they needed to go in, stepping forward first when she showed signs of hesitation. He kept his pace slow, glancing over his shoulder to make sure she didn't run off or disappear, but she simply followed on dutifully after him, staying one step behind, as if wary of coming any closer than that. And it was clear she was wary, with her arms close to her body to protect herself, her eyes glancing all around to check for danger and anything suspicious; and yet she had agreed rather quickly to Sasori's suggestion, following him without asking any questions or appearing to consider the possibility of what he might do to her.

Not that he was complaining.

Although no one was around at this time of night, everyone already asleep, Sasori still kept to the shadows as much as he could, eyeing up any guards and avoiding their gazes, making sure to stay silent—though that was pretty easy. She didn't make a noise, whether vocally or with her footsteps, and Sasori was glad of it. Nobody would suspect him, but he knew if people found out they wouldn't exactly be happy at the idea that he'd killed an innocent girl who'd wandered in from the desert, ill, alone, and no doubt starving and dehydrated, only to turn her into a puppet to use in battle because of her abilities. Plus, he was abusing her trust; she had nowhere to go, and with the fact she was hungry, thirsty and tired and Sasori was offering her the solution to her problems, she followed him—yet he was planning on killing her instead. So he couldn't let anyone see.

But he didn't know what she was thinking. She wasn't about to ask questions, no. And yes, she was hungry, thirsty and tired, and therefore was willing to follow Sasori. But at the same time, there was something else that told her to follow him. When she had met his gaze back at the gates…she had seen in his eyes things that she could connect with. The look on his face was so placid and imperturbable that she had almost been enchanted by him; it had almost been an automatic reaction to nod at his offer and go along with his suggestion. Either way, she was too caught up in all that was going on to think about anything else, concentrating mostly on putting one foot in front of the other. It was what she had been doing for quite some time now through the desert, and that fact hadn't changed now she had reached civilisation.

Then eventually they had reached his house, and just as silently as they had been walking, Sasori opened the door and led her inside, closing it behind them before turning on the lights. It was a simple place, but she didn't care. It was a place to stay; she was inside a building, and as such didn't notice that Sasori now had to physically lead her across the room. Gazing around the place when Sasori disappeared for a moment, she blindly took the clothes from Sasori's hands as he passed them to her, numbly removing her old ones and replacing them with the new a moment later, Sasori turning away to give her a little privacy. Then, feeling a little better already, she found Sasori pushing a glass of water and a plate of food into her hands and sitting her down on the bed.

He watched out of the corner of his eye through the doorway of the next room as she began to eat and drink, surprising him by doing so carefully and slowly even when she must have been starving by this point. She took in her surroundings bit by bit, stroking the bedcovers and clothes with delicate fingers and a soft touch. Sasori didn't notice his eyes never left her as he subtly gathered and prepared the tools he needed to turn her into a puppet, absentmindedly simply observing her behaviour in the back of his mind as he started thinking over how he was going to kill her. It was going to have to be quick and clean—he didn't want to have to clean everything up. He didn't want her to think anything was up, either—not knowing the full extent of her abilities, he couldn't risk getting into a battle with her.

"You're a puppeteer, aren't you?"

Her soft voice calling out to him jolted Sasori out of his thoughts, forcing him to focus on her properly as he walked to the doorway and fully met her gaze head on. But as he did so, he found himself hesitating, those eyes once again catching him out and making him pause in his actions, regardless of how hard he tried to make things otherwise. Something about her was strangely intriguing; alluring, and Sasori couldn't help but want to know more about her. He was curious, even if he wanted to turn her into a puppet, and it meant he couldn't stop himself from answering her question, knowing he was only prompting a conversation and slowing the process of turning her into a puppet, but unable to stop.

But even he hadn't been expecting the look in her eyes to suddenly change. It abruptly became so much more intense; piercing, connecting with something deep in his soul he hadn't even known existed, yet her voice remained the same level as she stated bluntly; pleadingly,

"You don't like this place, do you? You're going to leave, aren't you? Take me with you..."

Sasori hadn't a clue what was going on. How in the hell could she understand all of this; what he wanted to do with his life? The people in the village he had known all his life hadn't a clue about what he was planning, yet a girl he had known for less than an hour had figured it all out? It froze him up completely, causing him to remain silent as he stared back into her eyes. She was pleading with him not only out loud, but with the way she looked at him; that same unusual innocence he had noted before along with it, a purity Sasori didn't understand also showing through. But at the same time her eyes were filled with an utter apathy and indifference that often filled Sasori's features—what he was known for.

How was he supposed to react to this?

He'd been expecting to take her back, gather his tools and in a few seconds, kill her. Then it would be over, and he'd start the process to turn her into a puppet. Yet instead, this was happening, and he couldn't do a thing. The silence between them stretched on, that same mist turning into a fog that seemed to surround him and suffocate him. She didn't say a word, waiting for his reaction—

"Sasori-sama!"

Snapping his gaze round to the sound of furious pounding on his door, Sasori narrowed his eyes as he relaxed, having not even realised his fists were clenched so hard his knuckles were white, releasing a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. A part of him was almost grateful at the intrusion, glad that something had interrupted the silence and broken the situation up. But a moment later, shaking off all that had just gone on and realising the circumstances in front of him and Sasori couldn't help but grit his teeth in irritation—now his plans were ruined.

He didn't have choice but to open the door, and scowling, a glare on his face, he haltingly headed over, reaching for the doorknob as slowly as possibly, planning on opening the door only as much as he had to, to try and hide her presence in the room. But he didn't get the chance, finding it was thrown open before he even touched the knob, the ninja rushing in, having wondered why he was taking so long to answer the door. Instantly Sasori's scowl deepened, contemplating just how bad things could get, not really listening as the ninja began to explain why he was there—though he didn't finish his explanation when he caught sight of the girl sitting there. Blinking in surprise, he stared at her for a few moments, running his mind over all the villagers and ninjas he knew, before finally bursting out,

"Who the hell is she?"


	3. Chapter 3

He wouldn't be able to kill her now.

Someone other than he did knew she existed, and no doubt would end up telling someone else—a piece of information that would only end up working its way up to the Kazekage. Having been heard by all those people, the idea of Sasori simply going ahead and killing her and turning her into a puppet was no longer one he would be able to carry out—that plan was utterly out the window. They'd want to know more about her, to try and help her…they'd definitely stop him from hurting her in anyway. The one thing he'd tried so hard to avoid, and it happened so easily; but there was nothing Sasori could do about it now, prompting him to sigh imperceptibly and reply bluntly,

"I found her wandering the streets. From the looks of her I guess she hadn't eaten or drunk anything in days or slept either. So I decided to help her out."

It was now that the ninja took a closer look at her, seeing that Sasori was right; she didn't look particularly well. She looked young, too—she had to have been through some rough times to have ended up like this. Immediately his gaze softened and he nodded along with Sasori's words. He wasn't about to do anything to this girl; she didn't deserve it. Clearly her circumstances were suspicious, but no doubt she had been with her family or at least her team and there had been a fight in the Land of Wind, leaving her the only survivor. With no one to help her and nowhere to go, she must have wandered about looking for food and shelter until she eventually came across Sunagakure. Accepting his theory, the ninja smiled at her, questioning sweetly,

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

Sasori narrowed his eyes as he realised he hadn't actually asked her that the entire time she'd been here—then again, considering he'd been about to kill her, it hadn't exactly mattered. But all he could do was watch as she looked coolly back at him; glad there was one thing she was able to remember and answer, and responded simply,

"Minarai. But people just call me Mina."

After a short talk, Mina was taken to the Kazekage, Sasori by her side, having to explain her story once more. He hadn't particularly wanted to; before she had had a purpose to him. Before she had been going to be a puppet in his collection. But now that she had been discovered and they had taken pity on her, he wouldn't be allowed to do so anymore, so what did she matter to him anymore? Though still, he couldn't deny that curiosity about her remained, resurfacing as they considered what would happen to her. He couldn't stop himself from glancing in her direction, remembering the moment that had occurred back at his house, and Sasori couldn't help but wonder if she _did_ matter. Something about Mina was different, and he couldn't get that out of his head.

It was what kept him quiet as the Kazekage allowed Mina to stay in Sunagakure, giving her a house, feeding her and clothing her. The image of the look in her eyes and the tone of her voice was what allowed him to accept everything that happened as she was accepted into the village as one of them, and eventually given a headband and allowed to do missions along with the rest of the ninjas. They had postponed the occasion to begin with, trying to figure out where she was from—who she really was—but she couldn't remember much. What she had told Sasori had been true; she didn't know where she was from—all she remembered was walking through the desert and arriving at Sunagakure.

But throughout all of this, in the same way Sasori didn't forget Mina—

Mina never forgot him.

This was clear a couple of days after their first meeting; Sasori had attempted to go on as normal, focusing on how he was going to be leaving the village—on all he had been going to do before Mina had stumbled into his life. He'd been doing his usual routine, working on his puppets and the like, when he'd heard a knock on his door. Frowning in confusion, a part of him had wanted to brush it off; he was busy, he knew he didn't have any missions right now, and he didn't want to be disturbed if it was something pointless. For some reason people still felt the need to ask him questions about Mina—even when he didn't know a thing about her either. Though knowing he couldn't just ignore it, regardless of how much he wanted to, Sasori had sighed inwardly and retreated from his room to the front door, opening it swiftly—and narrowing his eyes in surprise upon finding Minarai standing outside.

And even more so when she abruptly told him she wanted to stay.

Just like before, her words had frozen Sasori, and to begin with, he wasn't sure what to do, simply standing there silently as the seconds ticked by. He already knew he understood nothing about this girl, and yet she asked to stay? What possible reason could he come up with to allow that? He had only taken her there because he'd wanted to kill her, but since that had gone wrong, Sasori was free to wash his hands of her; especially considering how close he was to getting out of this place. But then the memory of what had happened before—of how he had been brought completely to a halt by what she did and said—resurfaced in Sasori's mind, and he couldn't help but hesitate. Automatically he searched her eyes, looking for anything that might give something away…but there was nothing. Sasori was only reminded of his curiosity about her, of his fleeting thought that somehow, somewhere, they shared a connection—and it stopped him from being completely able to shut her out.

Minarai hadn't said a thing the entire time, waiting for Sasori to figure things out for himself, knowing that trying to push the idea wouldn't end well—but was surprised herself at her reaction as Sasori abruptly shifted slightly to allow her to come inside. Her body relaxed; she released a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding in the first place and fought a smirk that tried to appear on her face. Instead she slipped quietly inside, her heart beating a little faster at the idea of why she was reacting so strongly to this, but shaking it off, Mina faced Sasori. She could understand him; she knew she could. What he was going to be doing…it was all in his eyes. A lot in her life was blurry right now, being unable to remember what came before, but Sasori had cut through all that, and Mina knew he was special—and therefore she was going to keep him close. She didn't want to be in Sunagakure either, and knew without doubt that Sasori could help her—she _had _to stay with him.

Sasori wasn't exactly as enthusiastic about it as Mina was. Though he couldn't force himself to simply shut the door on those intense brown eyes of hers, he wasn't overly happy, either. There was no way he was going to change his whole life to suit her, and so he was going to go back to what he was doing before; he had things to be getting on with. He just didn't know how Mina would react to that fact. Sasori didn't want to have to babysit her; he wasn't talkative, and didn't want to have to deal with lots of questions when it came down to his work with her constantly fluttering around pointing things out and making things difficult. She wasn't a puppeteer, so she wouldn't understand what he was doing...but he wouldn't get put off, and seemingly neither would Mina, as she followed on obediently just like before, getting another seat to put next to Sasori's desk as he got back to work when she saw what was going on. And taking a breath, Sasori rolled his shoulders and attempted to focus on what was in front of him, still wondering why the hell he had let her in in the first place.


	4. Chapter 4

But Sasori was pleasantly surprised.

He had sat down, grabbed what he'd been doing before and got straight back to work, avoiding looking at Mina. He had no idea what to do with her now, and the concept that she would just be sitting there, fidgeting when she began to get bored and possibly even attempting to make conversation was not one Sasori liked to picture. A part of him just wanted to throw her out. To just drop everything he was doing, turn around and tell her to leave. There was no point to this, and it was only because of that stupid—though incredibly _persistent_—feeling that hovered around him that meant he hadn't been able to just say no from the start. It would make it easier on both of them; Sasori knew Mina wouldn't want to be here. She knew nothing about it and could only be able to watch while he worked. To confirm this fact, Sasori casually glanced up, holding back the irritation he knew would come when he saw that look of tedium in her eyes…

Only to find there was none there.

As he looked up to meet her gaze, he found none of what he had been expecting. Instead, Mina simply sat waiting for him to continue with what he had been doing before; if anything _interested _in what he was doing. Not to mention, no matter how hard Sasori tried he found no trace of deceit there; everything he saw in her eyes was genuine. She truly did want to be there and truly did want to see what he would do. Whether she would understand it or not, Mina was willing to learn—and abruptly Sasori remembered how she had acted when they had talked before. She had figured out he was a puppeteer for herself, but she hadn't shied away from the idea; appeared scared or unsure with the possibility. She had accepted that fact—maybe it had even been part of the reason she had asked to come with him when he left the village. But either way, it was clear she was going to do everything she could to make sure she didn't get in his way or disrupt his work.

And Sasori found it much easier to turn back to his tasks after that.

Mina still hovered around him, it was true; but it was just as Sasori had predicted: she never got in his way or made things difficult for him. She might have followed him around everywhere, but she managed to help out where it was needed. She was quiet, not constantly chattering away and asking idiotic questions even though it was clear she was interested in what Sasori could do; attentive in a way that balanced her silence out—it allowed her to pick up on Sasori's abilities and learn how his puppets worked without having to ask too much, listening to his every word and grasping things quickly and easily. But the one thing that surprised Sasori the most was how much Mina seemed to understand him. It hadn't taken much time of her being in the village for her to always be able to comprehend his motives instantly whenever Sasori did a thing, and soon she began to be able to predict what he would do before he'd even done it.

As such, Sasori's hesitance faded away easily, and he agreed to let Minarai hang around with him, forgetting he'd been planning on turning her into a puppet when they'd first met. Their missions were done together, having been chosen as teammates already—she had been alone and without anyone she knew in the village. Sasori having been the first person she'd come across and the first person she'd befriended, they'd opted to let him be her teammate for the time being, and found they worked well together; they became a pretty good team overall. She began spending more time at his house than she did at hers, and even when missions were over, they remained in each other's presences and did what they liked. Sasori had worried at first that Mina would say something about him going to be leaving the village—but she never did, and he learned to trust her. After all, she was the only one who actually understood his wish to leave Sunagakure in the first place.

So they continued to be friends. People often mentioned the silence between them, but it never bothered either Sasori or Mina. They didn't need to speak. She watched when he made his puppets and she learnt the trade that way—in a sense, she sort of became his apprentice. It had been a passing comment, but in reality, it made sense, and they were willing to accept it—it was the same way her nickname had come about. Everyone had noticed the way Mina followed Sasori around everywhere he went and did anything that he asked her to do, and with Sasori being a puppeteer, there was only one thing they were going to start calling her:

His doll, of course.

It had been a joke; Mina always obeyed Sasori like he was her master and yet it was clear they were really close, talking and hanging out like friends and spending loads of time together. Sasori never encouraged or discouraged it; though he cared about her, at the same time he couldn't help but view her as his apprentice, too. But over time, the joke developed, and people had started calling Mina 'Kage Ayatsuri-ningyō' (Shadow Puppet), as no matter where Sasori was, Mina couldn't be far behind, and for every action he took, she performed an appropriate reaction—and the name stuck, even for her own abilities used in battle.

But Sasori was still planning on leaving Sunagakure, and ever since Mina had come to Sunagakure, he had advanced his change into a full, living puppet significantly—and it was all thanks to Mina. As he had gotten to know her and learnt more about who she was, he had used her as a starting point to figure all the details out for when he would make the change from flesh and bone to a full puppet body. The difference between Mina and the rest of the population was that her body wasn't normal. Instead of blood it was chakra that ran through her veins and nothing else. She had organs, but they weren't truly necessary to her any more—the only reason she ate and drank was because she felt hungry and thirsty, not because she needed the sustenance to continue living. Her brain—her heart—had become more like machines than organs now. Therefore Sasori had been able to figure out how he would change himself.

It had been because of Mina that he had been able to carry it all out.

Because of this—because of all that had happened in the time he'd known Mina—something had changed within Sasori. When he'd had that first conversation with her, he'd sensed there was something different about her; something he wasn't quite sure about, but that he knew was special. But as he had never come across it before, he hadn't known how to react to it—it had shocked him into silence and stillness and meant he had been unable to respond when Mina had said what she had. But things had changed since then.

Sasori had gotten to know Mina. She had become his apprentice. His friend. She knew him better than anyone did now and anyone had ever done. She had given him the means to fulfil what he'd been wanting to do for so long now. And in return, he'd known just what he was going to do. He had agreed to the plea that she had given upon Sasori taking her back to his house when they had first met at the beginning—he had said he'd take her with him when he killed the Third Kazekage and left Sunagakure. He'd promised her that they'd stay together and, no matter where he went in life, she would remain his apprentice and be at his side. Before he had met her, he wouldn't have imagined ever agreeing to something like that—but now…it was just the way he knew things were going to go. When he planned things, he planned them for them both to carry out into the future.

Only it wasn't quite as easy as he'd first thought…


	5. Chapter 5

How the mission situations in Sunagakure had ended up like they had, Sasori still didn't know.

He already had his team, and was assigned his different missions where needed, just like every other Sunagakure ninja around. He was in the puppet corps, as per his abilities, and that was where he stayed. _Mina's_ abilities were impressive, true, no one was about to deny it; that had been evident from the moment Sasori had told the story of how he had come to meet her, and there had been no doubt she would be ranked highly as a ninja in the village. Sasori had worked alongside her as she regained her full strength and fully revealed all she could truly do—even if he was no longer going to be killing her and making her into a puppet for his collection, he still admired them.

Somehow along the line, because he had been so interested in Mina's power, Sasori had ended up training with her. It had been a way to truly experience them, see them in different situations and compare them with his own. And yet, in an unusual way, they had complimented his. They worked together in a way that allowed for perfect teamwork, increased power and speed. That fact hadn't exactly then changed when Mina had started following Sasori around; she had begun learning about the puppet master jutsu, what Sasori could do and basically became his apprentice. It meant she understood his abilities even more, and with how their relationship bettered in between, teamwork became easier than it already had been at the start.

Mina had supposed to have been allocated onto a team and sent off to do her own missions the same as everyone else once she became accustomed to the village, knew her way around and had adapted herself to life in Sunagakure. But she herself had changed things round a little. She had followed on behind Sasori, regardless of where he went—and that included missions. At first they had tried to stop her, making sure she stayed behind; but Mina always found a way to escape and catch up, acting like a magnet and always returning to Sasori. No matter what they did, nothing worked, and Sasori protested that maybe they should allow her to come. Nobody minded, she helped out whenever she could and never slowed things down, she wasn't desperately needed anywhere else—

And they couldn't stop her, either way.

So she had ended up on Sasori's team, his apprentice; his protégé. Others found it a little unusual that they often didn't speak, though they were supposed to be so close to each other, but his teammates knew better. That silence meant something; it was as important as conversation to them. Without speaking, they knew what each other wanted; what they were going to do. If there was something wrong, they'd sense it right away from the moment they appeared, and would turn to the other and try to make things better. It was one of many reasons they worked so well together.

The mission that day hadn't been too much of challenge.

Sure, it was a little over the level of an average, run-of-the-mill mission, but nothing Sasori couldn't have handled on his own, let alone with Mina with him as well. She was a very talented ninja, her abilities having developed even over the time she had been in Sunagakure, and Sasori was slowly shedding his human shell, ready to become as close to his artwork as he could get. Nothing about the day had suggested anything would be different to how things had been the last few, and so both of them had continued as normal with their routines as they had gotten up, gathered what was ready and headed to the Kage's building to get the mission.

Neither of them had reacted to hearing what it was, and neither of them had needed to say much as they left with the rest of the team. The journey, just like everything else, had been a simple one. They had mentioned things about the mission, but for the most part it had been relatively relaxing, Sasori and Mina hovering side by side like they usually did and talking here and there. What was there to think about? It was completely normal and nothing about it was different or difficult. It had then been about an hour after they had stopped for a lunch break that they had finally arrived at the mission area, and it was there that they halted to recap on what the mission was about and make a plan.

They needed to take down these ninjas, and starting off, they began to do so, regrouping when each task was done. As Mina had come back from taking down another set of ninjas, she crouched down next to her teammates, looking over the map, and checking over the geography of the area she paused, narrowing her eyes. An idea flickered through her mind, and glancing up, she murmured softly,

"I've got an idea. Continue on with everything else—don't follow me. I'll be back in an hour or so. I know what I'm doing," before disappearing silently into the trees. Sasori called out after her, guessing where she was headed, but knew she was gone, and scowling, he turned back to the others. He knew what she was like—but he knew her abilities, too. There were other things to concentrate on, as well, and he forced himself to focus on those. But he couldn't do that a while later.

Not when Mina didn't come back.

He trusted her; he did, but at the same time…it didn't stop that slight worry rising in the pit of his stomach. It didn't stop him from continually glancing at the trees, wondering where she was, waiting for when she would coalesce from the darkness to reveal what she'd done and how it had been successful. But nothing ever seemed to occur. And they couldn't hang around in the forest forever. They had to move back to a safer area before they could end the mission—they wouldn't hold the advantage if they pressed on now. They held on as much as they could, for Sasori's sake, but eventually they had to speak up, stating simply,

"Come on, Sasori-sama. Mina-chan can take care of herself. We're not leaving completely, anyway—we'll still be here in the morning. And we'll be heading down there, too. She'll be fine; you know she will. If she can handle walking alone through the desert…"

Sasori stared blankly ahead of him, but finally nodded and went along with their words. He couldn't sleep, however, lying there with his senses on full alert for any footsteps that might reveal Mina return. They never came, though, instead leaving him fully awake to hear something else—something he really didn't want to hear: an explosion. An explosion that woke everyone else up, and after glancing at each other, hesitating at what to do, they made the decision to head towards it. They found the headquarters, only all in rubble now—clearly showing their mission to be over. No one could have survived that. But in the same way…what about Minarai? Sasori continued on, walking through the rubble, calling out until the sun began to rise—but he never got an answer.

He had almost wanted to smirk. A few months earlier he had wanted to kill her and turn her into a puppet—now look at him; mourning her death and wishing for things to be different. For her to still be alive. How in the hell could it have happened? Her nickname was Kage Ayatsuri-ningyō because she'd always followed him around—been right beside him. And yet this time…this time she'd been on her own. She left his sight for such a small period of time and this happened? He should have been more careful. Only there was nothing he could do about it now. It was times like this he wanted to be as cold and hard as his puppets—to not have to feel a thing. But when he turned and rejoined his teammates, he'd made his decision. He went back to Sunagakure—and soon after he was gone, the Third Kazekage disappeared, and he was in the Akatsuki.

And he did it alone.


	6. Chapter 6

How many years had passed since then?

Sasori hadn't exactly counted.

Then again, he didn't particularly want to.

But either way, time had gone by, and when he had finally joined the Akatsuki, he had remained there, doing the missions, helping their goals, all the while furthering his own desires in the meantime. His puppet collection had increased greatly, leading him into the hundreds by now, and he was a full puppet—well, as full as he could be. A living one. The body of one; that hard, wooden shell with all the battle adaptions, halting his aging process and essentially leaving him immortal, protecting him from the majority of attacks that were aimed at him. He no longer needed to eat, drink or sleep—his organs were gone, after all, and he had gained all the strengths of this puppet body, losing all the weaknesses of his old human one.

All but Sasori's heart, however. That still remained, the one thing he needed to stay alive, now a cylinder in his chest, and nothing more. It meant much less to him now than it had done when he had still been human. Sasori's emotions stayed, too, but after his ninja training in Sunagakure to push them aside and the added help of having this body…his emotions felt as cold as the rest of him. He couldn't really feel anything physically anymore, and he was beginning to forget what it was like emotionally too. Only the basics hovered on the surface; true, deep emotions having faded into the blackness along with so much. Not that it mattered. He didn't need them. He had his job to do, working on the missions first with Orochimaru before he had left the organization, and now with Deidara.

But from the looks of things, it wasn't about to just be the two of them anymore.

It had been a usual morning, true, Sasori already awake and ready by the time Deidara appeared and began getting something to eat; something he made sure to comment on—though it was never something Deidara paid attention to as he sat down with a roll of his eyes and shot back,

"Come on, Sasori-danna! You're a puppet, you don't sleep or eat, so of course you're gonna be ready before me, un! You can't expect me to be done right away, un!"

Sasori resisted the urge to hit him and simply turned away with a glare, letting his mind wander for the moment. They were heading to the nearest hideout to meet up with Zetsu so he could give them their next mission. He wasn't expecting anything big; those were their Jinchuuriki missions and had already been assigned. The nearest thing to that was taking out a group of ninja, maybe—but Sasori doubted it would be something along those lines. It was just a normal, regular day, and therefore there was nothing to look forward to or really think about. Not that he was overly bothered in general, as it was his life and he did what he had to. Deidara was the one who complained now and again, needing to express himself through his art more often than Sasori himself did—something else that annoyed Sasori greatly.

At least with Orochimaru they had agreed on the admiration of things that lasted.

But there wasn't anything he could do about it. Leader had given Sasori Deidara as his partner, and he _supposed_ their abilities could suit each other sometimes…if they tried…he guessed…even if their personalities didn't get on. At least they got on better than Hidan and Kakuzu did—but then again, he doubted anyone could get on worse than they did, and shaking his head at that idea, glancing round to see that Deidara was done with his breakfast, he shifted, twitching his fingers to get Hiruko moving. It was time to leave and head to the hideout to meet Zetsu. Pausing only to think through the route in his mind, he calculated the time it would take, gathering if they kept up a steady pace they'd reach there about 10:30 to 11:00, and turned to Deidara to tell him this—when Pein's voice abruptly appeared in his mind, cutting him off, and looking at the expression on Deidara's face, he knew Deidara was hearing him too.

"Sasori, Deidara, I apologise, but there's been a change in plan. You won't be meeting Zetsu at the hideout to get your next mission. But you still need to head there and arrive at the latest by midday. I'll explain more there."

Without another word his voice faded, and both Sasori and Deidara paused as they contemplated his words. It sounded interesting. Generally it was Zetsu who gave out the missions, or if needs be sometimes Konan—or if Pein gave them out, he did so by mind. No one saw him face-to-face much. But to have him say they needed to get to the hideout relatively quickly in order for him to explain something to them as if something important was going on…it peaked both their curiosities, though Deidara was the one to speak up about it, smirking as he wondered out loud what it was. Sasori shrugged, his mind doing the wondering for him, stating they wouldn't find out unless they headed over there in the first place—leaving Deidara rolling his eyes at Sasori's impatience once again.

They didn't need to travel any faster than they would have done normally in order to get to the hideout in time, the journey mostly spent in silence. It most likely wasn't even that big of a deal and it was just easier for Pein to do it face to face—but still neither Sasori nor Deidara to could stop themselves from wondering as they walked, and as such by eleven they'd reached the hideout. Gathering things wouldn't be getting underway until midday, they simply stayed in the living room, watching T.V and hanging out, only to be surprised a little while later as Itachi and Kisame arrived. They tried to merely brush it off as coincidence, but with the fact Pein had acted like he had, Sasori couldn't dismiss the idea that they might be here for the same reason they were—

And they knew it for certain when Kakuzu and Hidan turned up just before midday.

Blinking in surprise to see the rest there, Hidan immediately questioned as to their appearance in the hideout, Deidara explaining why he and Sasori had come to the hideout, Itachi and Kisame nodding along and agreeing that that was why they had come as well. Kakuzu repeated their sentiments, and so clearly things were different: and an explanation was in order as Pein arrived moments after, Hidan demanding a reason for why they all had to show up at such short notice. Pein didn't beat around the bush, stating simply,

"I need everyone on the same mission."

"What? Like…everyone working together?" Hidan blurted out, finding it hard to imagine the scenario—though to be honest, everyone else was, as well. It was certainly set to be interesting.

But it was necessary. Someone had been killing a lot of their subordinates recently who had been gathering information, sneaking around in places they'd been working and just generally getting in their way. Though they had figured out where he was working from they needed more information on him and knew he was working with a large group of ninjas—it wasn't enough for just one group. There was too much work to be done; it would take weeks otherwise, and therefore Pein needed them all. They all glanced at each other, unsure how to react but knowing it was happening anyway.

But it was where it all began again.

And it was definitely going to be an interesting ride.


	7. Chapter 7

They had decided not to begin again and head off to the village until the next day, simply learning all the information that was already known about the mission in order to understand what would be going on. It would make things easier when they were exploring, as well, as they would be able to notice if there was something to do with this guy right away instead of having to check up on the information all the time. The atmosphere was a little unusual to start with, but no one was really sure how to react. Hanging out in the hideout together was one thing, but all for the same reason was another. Not that they really had a choice in the matter, however, and as such they concentrated on what they had in front of them and got on with it.

Most of them, anyway.

Just like always there was a bit of complaining from some—Hidan, mostly—but Kakuzu either threatened him into silence or Pein placated him with the idea that the fighting would come after. If he just put up with the boring bit to begin with, the rest would come soon enough, and he could let out his frustration then. He seemed to deal better with that, though he didn't look completely ok with it the next morning as everyone got ready for the day. Most were alright with the mission; some even slightly looking forward to it, in Kisame and Deidara's case, wanting to see how all of this would turn out in the end. So once everyone was ready and they'd got all they needed, they headed off to the village to take a look around.

They were going to be keeping their presence to a minimum, so they weren't just going to be marching in and doing whatever they liked. For the most part, they'd split up as much as they could and keep to the shadows, but for the time being, they could remain as one group—they were starting on the outskirts, and it was deserted. However, there were still buildings around there that had once been used as hideouts for other ninja groups when the village was bigger and more prosperous. They'd be a good space for this guy to use if he needed a little extra room to put something in. A cell to hold someone prisoner. An interrogation room to torture and question a suspect. And therefore it was the first place they headed.

It was a clear day, the skies blue with just a hint of a breeze; no one would be hanging around the places they would be going—fortunately enough for the Akatsuki. It wouldn't take long to go back and forth between the hideout and the village, either; it was closer than the village Deidara and Sasori had just been at, and was ultimately where they would be staying for the mission. It kept them away from any of the villager's gazes or suspicion, it gave them a safe distance between them and the village and there was no chance of anyone hearing anything they said or finding out what they were doing.

As such, the journey only continued for fifteen minutes longer before the gates of the village finally appeared ahead. From there, the path wound onwards, disappearing down the hill and into the actual village, surrounded by greenery and lush foliage. It was hidden away in the countryside; not many people knew of the village, and only came across it by chance—hence the reason it had remained so small over the years. It was most likely also the reason a lot of things went on behind the scenes in this area; missing nins, drug deals, etc. Ninjas from the ninja villages never came out there, and so they were able to operate without anyone getting in their way. The very village itself was spread out, such as the distance from the gates to the village. In that way, not even the villagers had a clue what was going on.

Pein led them all through the gates, turning instantly in the direction they needed to go and set off without hesitation. Evidently he knew the way better than they did, so for the moment they simply followed on after. They analysed the village from where they were as they went, making a few comments as they did so, but unable to figure much out without exploring a little more. But then a few minutes later and they disappeared under the cover of trees again, the village vanishing from view, and they pressed on through the woods. Though they weren't exactly sprinting, Pein kept up a pace, not wanting to waste time—and no one was particularly protesting. Getting over the monotonous parts to this mission quickly was best.

Though it didn't take much longer for the trees to part; revealing a set of buildings ahead and what the Akatsuki guessed they were here for. Where they had been expecting one single building, they found a whole selection grouped together in some form of compound, however a very small one. They were placed in a square, the gates forming the last line. It looked a lot more important than what anyone had been expecting, though as they got closer they saw it hadn't been built well, even from the start, just the basics. And now with years of disuse, it was really falling apart. They'd have to be relatively careful in here when it came down to touching things; just in case the entire building didn't collapse on top of them.

Sasori followed on behind as Pein led them towards the gates, narrowing his eyes as he scanned the buildings. He didn't want to spend much time here. Though nothing about this place gave him chills, or made him nervous, just the look of them, the dilapidation and how bad they had been in the first place wasn't something that Sasori wanted to hang around. The place was disgusting. All they had to do was take a quick look around, anyway—not that Sasori thought they'd find much. Of all places to go, why would this guy go here? Wouldn't he have picked at least a more stable set of buildings to place anything in? And why leave it so out in the open, with nothing or no one to guard it?

Although that thought changed quickly.

A second later and all of them noted movement in the trees, reaching for their weapons in order to attack if needed. But as they watched, they simply saw a group of three people walking through the trees nearby, two chatting casually with each other. It was clear they had no business with the buildings; they were paying no attention to them at all, just walking on like they were headed elsewhere. Though they noted they were ninja, seeing shuriken holsters and a katana around one, they seriously doubted they were of any danger to them, and slowly releasing their weapons, they let them be, pausing only a few moments longer before they turned back to the gates of the buildings, heading inside.

The place was just as dilapidated on the inside as it was on the outside, dust covered and scattered with the remnants of what used to be. Glancing around at where they would go next, Pein only paused as he considered the people they'd just seen, and flicking his gaze to Kakuzu and Kisame, he stated simply to close the doors. Though he really doubted that their motivation for being there had anything to do with them, that they were of any danger at all and that once they had passed on by they would never see them again in their lives, it was better to be cautious. There were other people out there as well, and it covered their tracks.

Kakuzu and Kisame nodded bluntly in agreement, moving back to the gates and gripping onto them firmly, though making sure they didn't simply break them in half in the process of closing them, they gradually began to close them. They attempted to hasten the procedure as the ninjas they had seen before passed into the open, though didn't see them or even notice their presence—at least not the two men. The third—a young girl—had sensed them already, but had merely brushed it off, gathering they were another group of ninja with their own mission and agenda, like so many others. But as she glanced back at them, seeing the doors slowly close on their image, she spotted something; something that made her double take. At first she thought she was wrong, but there was no way it could be anything else. It was something she hadn't in a long time; but a something that she would never forget. How could she, when it was one of the most familiar things imprinted in her mind?

"Sasori-sama?"


	8. Chapter 8

All of the Akatsuki's gazes immediately flung round to face the voice.

Especially Sasori's.

That voice…it might have been years, and he might have dismissed all those memories to the back of his mind. He might have brushed aside Sunagakure and everything that had happened there as well as the people. But he hadn't been able to do it with everything. He hadn't been able to do it with _her_. And he'd spent enough time with Mina, talked with her and hung out with her enough, then remembered those times numerously afterwards as he left Sunagakure and went on with his life, to recognise her voice—even if it was only for just a moment like it had been then. Even if it was nothing; even if it was just a mistake, a minor detail that meant nothing and he wouldn't consider the moment he saw it; he automatically looked and searched for the source.

Those three ninjas were passing in front of the buildings, same as they had been before. Nothing had changed in the circumstances; so what had it been? Who had called out, and how in the hell did they know him? He narrowed his eyes, along with all the other Akatsuki, scanning around as the doors began to close—but there was nothing. He might have told himself he'd heard it in his head if it wasn't for the fact that all of the Akatsuki had heard it too. Frowning, not liking the idea of this having happened, he glanced around one more time, only now noticing something that was different.

It was barely a glance; the doors to the buildings were practically shut, only a couple of inches allowing Sasori to see through and out into the forest ahead. He could just about see the three ninjas, still walking; but it was only now that he realised that it was just two that were moving. The third had stopped, and it was this third ninja that had turned to face the buildings. In the second before the doors closed, Sasori's eyes passed over the ninja's own—and for a moment he was caught in a memory. Those same eyes…that same colour, the shape, the size…all things he'd seen before…things that were utterly familiar in the same way the voice had been. The only familiar things he liked to hold onto in his current life.

But it couldn't be…could it?

Then everything caught up again, back in real time, the doors closing with a bang and shutting out what Sasori had seen. For a moment he continued to gaze at the spot, wondering about so many things; when Deidara's voice cut into his thoughts:

"Who was calling you, un?"

Sasori quickly began to think of an excuse—a way to get around telling the truth, when it occurred t him he didn't have to. There was no need to say anything but the truth, prompting him to answer simply,

"I'm not sure."

As Kisame and Kakuzu rejoined the rest, Pein paused as he contemplated all that had gone on. But nothing had happened. No one had seen anything and Sasori hadn't exactly spotted and recognised anyone. Whoever had called out had most likely heard of him somehow; maybe another missing nin from Sunagakure. They'd mentioned his name, but had nothing else to say about it—so they left. No one had approached them afterwards, he couldn't sense anything, and he doubted anyone would try anything considering they were all here in force. No; he brushed the idea off—there was nothing to think about. They were here for a reason, and they were going to carry it out.

So they all headed off again to go inside the nearest building, spreading out to look around, and Sasori joined in. Pein had been right, and shaking his head, Sasori frowned at the idea of thinking anything else. So what if they had _looked_ similar? Plenty of things looked similar. There were tons of people out there who had brown eyes, so it wouldn't exactly be a rarity to find someone who had them. And considering how different people could look, it was certainly a possibility that they could have similar features, as well. The same went for the voice. He probably was reacting like this because his head automatically went for something familiar to connect it with. Regardless of what it was that would have been alike, Sasori would have picked it out because—

Because it's what he wanted.

Although he knew Pein was right, and had accepted that as he went about the mission, searching through the buildings, it wasn't quite as simple as that. Sasori wanted to have been able to pick someone out as having called his name; spotted them and gone over. He wanted not to have seen a glance of similarities…but a full-blown look of the exact same thing. No changes, no nothing. He was disappointed in what had happened. Sasori didn't care about a lot of things; his emotions practically gone through his ninja training, and enhanced by his puppet body. He had wanted it that way; easier to forget and get rid of all the things that had caused him pain and made things harder for him in life. For the most part he had gotten rid of those he had known in Sunagakure; tossed them aside and left them behind.

But somehow…he couldn't do it to Mina.

Though as he twitched his fingers to move Hiruko forward he knew why. She was a part of him now. Sasori never passed a thought to the likes of his grandmother or his former teammates, yes, but it wasn't that way with Mina. All it took was a certain something to remind him. But without Mina, so much wouldn't have happened. He wouldn't be who he was—in so many ways. He _had_ wanted it to be her standing on the other side of those gates. Yes, they'd gone on that mission back when they'd both been in Sunagakure. Yes, it had ended up in her death and it had remained that way all these years, so the idea that Mina was alive…

But he frowned and gritted his teeth. He was getting in way over his head here. Emotions weren't something Sasori allowed himself to get overwhelmed by in the slightest. He couldn't get rid of them fully, no matter how hard he tried, but for the most part they were compartmentalised away, like his heart was. He couldn't be thinking like he was. Like he'd just thought; Mina had died on that mission when they'd been ninjas in Sunagakure. And so what? So what if he was disappointed in what had just gone on? So what if he had wanted it to be her that he'd seen? It hadn't been. That was the way it was. He couldn't live in the past—he didn't want to. It was what Sasori had to accept.

Though it wasn't that way for Mina.

She didn't need to live in the past—her past was her present now she knew what she did. She'd known he was alive; she'd seen Sunagakure and heard it all. She'd heard rumours as she travelled, learnt a few things…but it was never enough. Never enough to truly figure out where he was and find him. And there was always that part of Mina that wondered whether she should even try; so much had changed since then. But either way, as Mina continued her life, she'd never found Sasori, regardless of how she'd wanted to meet up with him. But her chance meeting wasn't as uncertain as Sasori's was. She knew it was him. The rest of the world didn't matter anymore. What she'd done, who she'd worked for…who cared? She'd found Sasori.

And that was all that mattered now.


	9. Chapter 9

Mina was desperate to see Sasori.

She might have gone on with her life after all that had happened, but that had been because she had had no choice. To begin with she _had_ tried to search for him, to catch up with him and get back to how they had been before. But when her search had come up with nothing, she had realised that there was nothing she could do for now but do other things; find a place to live, travel around, get work and do missions, even if they weren't with Sunagakure. Even if they weren't with Sunagakure—none of it would be. It had been the only path in front of her, so Mina had taken it, simple as that. What else could she do, after all? She wasn't about to sit back crying, go back to Sunagakure and hope he'd return one day or simply wait somewhere thinking that he'd know where she was and come get her.

But clearly it had all paid off.

She'd missed him, she couldn't—or wouldn't—deny it. There was no possible way for her to do so, anyway; not when they'd been through all that they had together and spent so much time together. When Mina thought about it, it seemed strange: they hadn't actually known each other that long. What, about six months in total? But with the amount of time they had been around each other within that time, it felt like it might as well have been six _years_. Mina knew him that well—she knew she did. It was why she wasn't going to give up on the idea of seeing him again now. It was why the possibility excited Mina in a way she hadn't experienced before—almost frightening her, in a way, not quite understanding her emotions.

If Mina had been able to, she would have rushed up to him then and there; but there were several factors that stopped her from doing so. Even Mina herself had been a little hesitant at first, fearful at the idea that she was just making it all up in her mind to fulfil a fantasy she wanted to be true. It had only been a view that had lasted for a few seconds, after all, before the doors closed. Not to mention it had been a big group of people all standing together; it could have altered her perspective. Then her two teammates had realised she was just standing there, and had come back to tug on her arm, telling her to get a move on as they needed to get back and report on their mission, and slowly Mina had wandered backwards, glancing over her shoulder with every step, as if to check he wasn't standing there. Even if it had been him, she couldn't have just walked up while he was on a mission with his group like that.

But the further away Mina walked, the stronger her resolve got.

It had been Sasori. She knew it. Sure, she hadn't seen him for long, but there could be no doubt about it. She wouldn't have reacted the way she had if it hadn't been him. And therefore, in much the same way, Mina knew without a doubt she would be going to see Sasori. A few doubts had crept in for a moment when she first considered doing so, but she pushed them away. Regardless of what he said of what happened, she had to see him—just because. True, the idea that she couldn't have just walked up to him while he was in the middle of his mission with his group was right, but there were other ways Mina could go about this.

Ways that were made much easier when she finished the report for her mission and got paid, now officially rid of her employer and free to do what she wanted. So with that in mind, Mina quickly began her search to figure out where exactly Sasori was staying. Though knowing that wasn't about to be a simple matter of asking around the inns nearby, Mina knew she was going to have to dig a little deeper, opting to see if she could find anything out about his mission. Or possibly his group—and there she began to find answers. The symbol hadn't really clicked anything in her mind, but as she searched a little further, Mina realised Sasori was in the Akatsuki.

She'd travelled enough to hear quite a bit about them, and considering possibilities as to why they might be there, and soon Mina came up with a theory. All it took was some espionage around the village, and she knew the theory was a reality. She'd heard what Osamu had been doing while she'd been working in the village, and now she knew that the Akatsuki were here…it was obvious to Mina that the two would clash. Of course they couldn't just storm in—most likely because they probably didn't even know a huge amount of information about Osamu. They'd have to collect more information, make some preparations, and then they could move in. It was unusual to see them all together like this, but evidently Pein felt it necessary to have them all here.

Luckily enough for Mina.

But now she'd figured that out, there was only one more thing to learn: where exactly they were staying while they completed their mission. She doubted they'd be in the village; Osamu worked close by and would easily hear about them, and they wouldn't want to be spotted. But with how Mina had been working in the area, she would have noticed if the Akatsuki were staying nearby—so it had to be a little further out. They weren't in the outskirts; she would have sensed it. So she'd just have to use her abilities to sense a little further. They wouldn't be too far away; it'd take too long to go back and forth to the village. It would have to be hidden, too—the perfect position for them to be able to regroup each day while they pooled the information they got and prepared for when they could finally confront Osamu. Mina couldn't waste time—she didn't know how long it would take her to find it; and she had to start now.

Sasori was a lot less focused than Mina, however.

He'd told himself that it hadn't been Mina, that he'd only wanted it to be her and he was making it worse, but that little bit of doubt always hovered in the back of his mind. As much as he attempted to fully push it all away and dismiss all that had gone on, Sasori couldn't stop an unexpected question from popping up every now and again. It didn't help with the idea he couldn't sleep—most people considered that a way to forget everything that had gone on during the day. The only thing Sasori could be grateful for was that he didn't have to deal with any changes in behaviour towards him. No one constantly asking things about what had gone on or how strange things had seemed. Because he was as in the dark as everyone else was. He was just as confused—maybe even more. It was the reason why he simply headed to his room once they got back to the hideout. Nobody had found anything at the buildings; it wasn't as if they had much to talk about.

It was how the night had gone on, everyone hanging out as usual—well, that was until someone coalesced on the edges of the room. To begin with, no one even noticed her; it wasn't the kind of thing anyone expected, and as such they continued as normal until it finally occurred to them just what was going on. Instantly all jumping up, reaching for weapons and the like, Mina stood still, doing nothing to act defensively. They slowed in their reactions at the possibility she might be a subordinate, but still didn't lower their weapons, finding the idea that she had just appeared out of nothing like that strange. No subordinates had the skill to do that. Instead they focused on something else; namely, what exactly she was doing here in the first place, and shaking off the welcome she had received, they questioned as to her directive (Classified). They just weren't quite expecting her blunt reaction of,

"I want to see Sasori-sama."


	10. Chapter 10

"Uh…Sasori-danna?" Deidara blurted in reply, a little surprised at what Mina wanted. But she showed no signs of…well, anything, really. In a way, she reminded Deidara of Sasori. That same lazy, apathetic expression that revealed nothing of what was going on within. For a moment there was silence as she simply nodded at his words, gritting her teeth in an attempt to curb her impatience. She didn't have time for this!

"You need to see him, then? Is it important?" Kakuzu cut in, narrowing his eyes at her, slightly suspicious of the whole situation. But as she turned her eyes on him, nodding at his questions, he saw no trace of deceit in her. There was nothing that hinted she was there to try something, and slowly, glances being thrown around the room, they finally agreed to let Mina see him.

Before they'd even finished the sentence—she was gone.

Raising an eyebrow at the idea, wondering how the hell she was going to find him, they rolled their eyes and turned back to what they were doing, not sure what had just gone on there—but Mina didn't care. She could sense Sasori in the building, and therefore already knew where his room was. She simply rushed past all the rooms, dismissing them as meaningless, her heart beating faster and faster as she hurried along. His presence got stronger as she got closer to his door, and Mina almost felt light headed. For so long she'd wanted this—and now it was finally happening. Her mental state seemed to be reminiscent of the night she'd met him; just blank, overwhelmed with everything around her and not sure what to do.

Then she arrived at his door…and things slowed down.

Her heart still might have been fast, but everything became clear. This was what Mina had wanted, and this was what she was getting. All she had to do was take the first step. And as such, she didn't bother with knocking, merely gripping the handle and opening the door quietly, closing it behind her once she was inside. Mina's memories came rushing back to meet her as she saw Sasori sitting at his desk; he hadn't aged a day. His hair was still that same red, still that same messy bed-head style…and even with the change in location, the puppet parts remained littered around as he altered them as a hobby. Just seeing them…_smelling_ them…and Mina felt at home. The reason why she had asked to go with Sasori when he left Sunagakure was ever more obvious to her now, and the time she had spent apart from him seemed even longer than it had been, leaving her voice gentle as she greeted quietly,

"Sasori-sama?"

But now there was nowhere for Sasori to hide. Before the voice had been muffled; far away, as if in a dream. This was clear as anything, and only a step behind him. Like…like Mina was here. He'd heard what had sounded like her voice, seen what had looked like her face…Sasori had told himself it had just been coincidence and it hadn't been true. But what if it _was_? After all, he couldn't exactly deny it now—the reason why the kunai he'd been holding dropped with a clatter to the floor, snapping him out of his thoughts long enough to turn around and face Mina standing there. Nothing showed up on his face; but she didn't expect it to. She could tell he was confused; surprised at all that was going on right now—he had a right to be, thoughts swirling through his head as he breathed softly,

"Mina?"

Finally getting a response, she bowed in the same way she'd always done for him, a smirk fluttering onto her face as she straightened back up. Now they both paused, unable to do anything but look at each other. Sasori's face hadn't changed in the slightest either; still looking like a teenager with his big brown eyes and round face. But as Sasori looked on at Mina, he could see she hadn't altered in her appearance, just like him. Her eyes remained big and childlike even with how the years had passed, those same delicate, small features and slight build evident as well. She wore a kimono with flared sleeves that went to mid-thigh, with shorts underneath, her hair still worn in the same style she'd always had back in Sunagakure. Those same porcelain features brought everything back, and finally Sasori found himself being able to stand.

But he still wasn't quite sure how to respond. Welcomes, goodbyes…he'd never been good at them, so a reunion such as this was out of his reach. Emotions he'd learnt all his life to suppress started to surface, confusing him as he attempted to pick out an option, but Mina did it for him. Slowly she took a few steps forward, staring at his face for any signs that might say otherwise. But when Sasori remained calm, his eyes merely showing surprise and bewilderment, Mina continued forward, relief abruptly hitting her as she stood in front of him. She was here. She'd found him—he was back. After all this time. Suddenly Sasori wasn't the only one who was surprised, meaning she could do nothing but rest her forehead against his chest, gripping his cloak in her fists; breathing in his scent and allowing it to overwhelm her. She had no idea what would happen; but even that fact had dissipated from her thoughts. Only what was in front of her.

"I thought you were dead, Mina," Sasori said quietly into the silence a moment later. Somehow her actions had brought him back to the present; proving this wasn't just some dream or hallucination, and granting him the ability to be able to function once more.

"Not exactly. I was knocked out—well, practically in a coma—for a couple of weeks; but then suddenly I woke up. Only so much had changed. And you were gone," Mina responded just as softly, lifting her head to look at his face properly.

"You're a missing nin? Why didn't you just stay in Sunagakure?"

Mina shook her head, stepping back and slowly letting go of his cloak, but not ready to move too far away from him as she explained matter-of-factly,

"Even if I had wanted to stay, Sasori-sama, I couldn't. They tried to kill me when I went back. They always said I was your 'apprentice'—they thought I knew information on your location."

Sasori frowned in irritation at the idea, though it didn't surprise him. That just seemed like something Sunagakure would do. Even though she'd been presumed dead on a mission before he'd even defected, the moment Mina turned up, no doubt looking worse for wear, and they blame and attack her. No questions asked, no trying to get an explanation. It was at times like this Sasori was glad he'd left—and glad that Mina was away from there, and safe, too. Though he paused as she began again a moment later, softer than before,

"But…I found you, Sasori-sama. I'm here. So…will you let me stay with you? I did last time, and I..."

Sasori wasn't sure how to answer Mina. It wasn't as simple as before—he was in the Akatsuki; that complicated things. They might not let her stay. But as he glanced away from her and back again, Sasori saw that she hadn't moved her gaze at all; she was still gazing straight at him. And just like the first time they met, he was caught by her eyes. They were innocent on the surface, if you simply glanced at them like most would. But you took a closer look, and they were so…intense. Deep. And Sasori knew they were just like his. Back in Sunagakure Mina had been the only one who had really understood him. Right from the beginning she had known what he wanted—they had a connection. They hadn't really known each other long and yet it had always seemed like they'd been friends for life. She'd been his Kage Ayatsuri-ningyō. And as that thought crossed his mind Sasori clenched his fists, stating firmly in return,

"You can stay, Mina. I promise."


	11. Chapter 11

Mina allowed a smirk to flash onto her face, hearing Sasori's words, and glanced once again into his eyes, glad to see the determination there and sighing inwardly in relief. It wouldn't have mattered what Sasori's words had been; she would have tried to stay around him anyway—but to know that he was willing to let her stay and was going to make sure she'd get to remain with him was a big respite for Mina. A few memories of how things had been in Sunagakure flashed through her mind, remembering how they had hung out together and how things had generally been, and a warm, almost glowing feeling fell over Mina, knowing that they would be able to do the same now, even if the Akatsuki changed things a little.

With that thought in mind, Mina stepped back, heading over to his bed to take a seat, curling her legs underneath her as she glanced over at what Sasori had been working on. Naturally, she enjoyed watching him work and always had done. It made sense that that fact hadn't changed over time, and smirking at her sitting there, just like usual sitting down with such grace and posture, Sasori went back to his desk, though slightly more turned towards Mina as she began simply,

"So how's your collection going?"

Smiling once more at her blunt beginning to the conversation, though grateful for it, Sasori started to explain a little, saying how his puppet skills had improved and how many puppets he had collected since she'd last seen him. But hearing him, Mina was a little shocked; the number going into the hundreds only proved that they had a _lot_ to catch up on, and a part of her hesitated as she sat there. A lot had changed, after all. He was sitting there working in this organization—the Akatsuki—and the red clouds on his cloak wouldn't let her forget it. He'd done so much with his abilities, and probably knew his partner in the Akatsuki better than he did her. When it came down to it, she had only been in Sunagakure—only been his apprentice and his friend—for six months. Did she truly have a place in his life any more?

Should she have just cut her losses when she saw him earlier?

But Sasori had welcomed her back. He was glad to see her—and after asking…he had promised he would let her stay. He wouldn't have done that if he didn't want her around. Mina could sit there and say that he was only doing this because he felt bad for her and felt obligated to let her stay, but she knew Sasori. That kind of thing wasn't like him—if he didn't want her around, he'd say it. He wouldn't hesitate to tell her he couldn't let her stay, even if she wanted it. And she had spent enough time with him, even in those six months in Sunagakure, to understand his body language; his emotions—or what was left of them. The look in his eyes had been utterly genuine when he had said all that.

So what if they had a lot to catch up on? It _had _been a long time since they had seen each other, so that was obvious. It would just mean they would have to spend more time together to catch up. And as for his partner knowing Sasori better than she did…Mina knew that wasn't true. Though she hadn't exactly spent a lot of time analysing the Akatsuki or its members, she doubted they were all best friends, hanging out and doing things in their spare time with each other. It was mostly for work, and that was it—if they managed to get along, then all the better. But it was their abilities that were the focus on this organization. But regardless of how little time they had known each other, they had spent more time together. They had hung out more and had a stronger connection—Mina didn't doubt she understood Sasori better. They had a lot in common, and were similar in many ways.

No; she didn't have to be worried about that, either.

So they kept talking, at least getting a little head start in terms of catching up on the numerous years they had missed in each other's lives. They both had their own stories, they knew, and it was clear it was going to be an interesting tale on both sides, but neither Mina nor Sasori were intent on getting it told as soon as possible. So much had happened so fast—Mina was still trying to get to grips on the fact that she had now left behind all of the life she had been living through a few hours earlier to be sitting with Sasori now all over again—and it almost seemed strange to be doing this. Not that it felt wrong…but it was weirdly unreal.

Not that either of them had much time to think on it, as a few moments later there was a firm knock on the door, and Pein came through instantly afterwards. Taking in both Sasori and Mina, narrowing his eyes at her presence in the room, Pein turned fully to Sasori, stating bluntly,

"Sasori-san; I'd like an update please. I just got told that someone came and asked to speak to you—but I know no subordinates are around. So who is she?"

Sasori stood to properly face Pein, and Mina followed in order to suitably meet him; she had known this was going to come at some point or other. The entirety of the Akatsuki were here, and she was a stranger. To have just walked in and gone to see Sasori, obviously someone would have come to check things out, and things needed to be explained: especially the fact that, according to Sasori, Mina would now be staying. Sasori had made his decision, however, knowing he wanted Mina to stay, and placing his hand on her shoulder, glancing from her to Pein—as well as noting a few faces at the doorway—he replied,

"Her name is Minarai, Leader-sama. She's the one who called to me earlier today. She's my apprentice. My Kage Ayatsuri-ningyō."

For a moment after he finished, silence fell, with no one able to come up with a response to that—not even Pein. No sounds came from the faces at the doorway, simply eyes blinking in shock and confusion. No one would have expected for Sasori to have kept any connections to his former village; he no longer wore his headband, never spoke of the village or the people he used to know—even though Deidara was pretty sure he still had a grandmother there—so to have welcomed Mina in to the hideout like this…it was a little unexpected. The idea of Sasori even having taken on an apprentice when he was in Sunagakure to begin with was strange, but to agree to hang out when he was in the Akatsuki having been gone from the village for decades?

Though as they looked at her, they could see she fit in with him. In the same way he was eternally young, even with him being 35 years old, she seemed to be similarly young—almost artificially so. Without sounding unoriginal, it was as if Sasori himself had made Mina, but she had gained a life of her own along the way; or maybe she was a living puppet, like he was? With the way Sasori treated her, so carefully and so amicably, it didn't seem so strange that that could have happened.

But knowing where this was going; how many questions there were going to be and—if he was going to get Mina to stay—how much he was going to have to do, Sasori turned to Mina and told her to stay put. There was no point getting her involved in all the debates and discussions that were to follow, and though she protested, he threw her a look, and rolling her eyes, scowling she threw her hands up and gave in, turning away to sit back on the bed as Sasori stepped forward towards Pein. Gesturing towards the door, Pein nodded, both of them leaving to find themselves standing in the corridor surrounded by the rest of the Akatsuki as Sasori shut the door behind him.

He glared at all the eyes staring back at him.

This was going to take a while.

And he was going to hate every minute of it…


	12. Chapter 12

Sasori paused for a moment, gritting his teeth at the silence.

He hated waiting—everyone in the Akatsuki knew he was impatient. Were they really just going to stand there all day and stare at him? Even Pein, when Sasori knew he had numerous questions for him—when they _all_ did? He understood they were surprised; though the details of this surprise he couldn't quite figure out. Was it really that much of a shock? Either way, even if it _was_, Sasori wouldn't have counted on it shocking the entire Akatsuki into complete silence. Not with Hidan's mouth, the fact Deidara was his partner or the idea that Pein had come to find him with the possibility of getting an update on the whole situation with Mina being here. Surely he'd be willing to push aside whatever he was feeling in order to get straight to the point—Sasori was sure hoping he would. The scowl he'd tried to hold back forced it's way onto his face, and just when he was about to start the conversation himself to get it over and done with, Deidara burst out,

"She's your _apprentice, _Sasori-danna, un?"

But with Deidara having broken the silence, it seemed to snap everyone else out of their trances, prompting Kakuzu, and then Hidan, to add vehemently,

"How did that even happen?"

"Yeah, Sasori! How the fuck do you know this girl?"

Sighing inwardly, forcing himself not to lose his temper, Sasori didn't bother answering each of those questions one by one. He wanted this over and done with as soon as possible; and that meant Pein would be the one who would have to hear. The others could wait, and as such he opted to answer all three at once, staring straight back into Pein's expectant eyes as he stated simply,

"Then I'll explain."

From there, he began to tell his story. He didn't go into detail; it wasn't necessary. Not only did he not want to tell his whole life story here, not considering any of them friends or trusting any of them, but what did it matter? They only needed to hear the basics. So he stated the facts of how he had come across Mina; of how she had become his apprentice. Then he led on to how she had disappeared—and how he hadn't seen her since until today; until she had called out to him earlier. But while he hadn't been sure it had been her, Mina had known it had been him, and had therefore done what she could to find him and come to meet him. Obviously she had succeeded, and that was why she had arrived at the hideout, and they'd been talking in his room until Pein and the others had come to see what was going on, Sasori falling into silence afterwards. There wasn't anything left to say when it came down to their meeting, after all.

The fact that Mina was going to stay, however…

It was why Sasori was a little more patient with the silence this time, absorbed in his own thoughts as to how he would go about telling Pein what he was planning. The others were simply surprised—they'd had no idea in the slightest. The possibility of something like this was one that none in the Akatsuki had been expecting, either, so it took them a while to come up with something to say in response. Pein himself was a little surprised, but that was soon taken over with other things; questions that needed to be answered, and shaking off all that had been holding him back before, he finally spoke up, narrowing his eyes as he questioned firmly,

"How did she find us?"

Glancing back at Pein, glad for the moment that he didn't have to simply blurt out he was letting Mina stay, Sasori didn't hesitate at the question. He had asked Mina the same question herself, and as such he replied,

"Mina's travelled a lot; she's heard of who we are. And she used her abilities to sense us; no doubt it was extremely easy considering she was searching for me."

Narrowing his eyes at the mention of her abilities, Sasori had to hide a smirk. He knew Pein was impressed with the idea of her being able to do that, and he didn't even know the full extent of Mina's abilities—that would be helpful when the time came. But for now he said nothing, waiting to hear what Pein had to say in return to his words.

"So no one else knows? She was with two other ninjas this morning, after all."

"No, Leader-sama. She was doing a mission with them—a one off—that was all. She moved from group to group when she pleased; it was never permanent. After she got her payment and completed what she needed to, Mina left them behind and came to find me," Sasori instantly shot back, not wanting Pein to think Mina was a traitor, drawing them into trouble. She wouldn't dare—and it wasn't just because he trusted her. Mina wouldn't try to double cross _him_, of all people. Even after the years that had passed.

For a while Pein didn't respond to that statement, however, taken in this new information as he considered his reply. He had to think about the possibilities, after all. They were all there on a mission, and they wanted to stay hidden, keeping their presence on the low. They needed to, if they were to complete it successfully. And it wasn't just a partnership of the Akatsuki, here. It was all of them, and he wasn't about to let one girl ruin all of this because Sasori wanted to have a reunion. True, Sasori was saying this to defend her, but how did he truly know? He said himself that it had been years since he had actually seen and spoken to her. She might have changed in that time. But still…it _was_ Sasori. He was cautious and mistrusting—he wouldn't simply accept anyone who walked up to him, even if he'd known them from his past.

If anything, it would be the opposite.

And she obeyed him. Yes, it hadn't been with a bow and a willingness of a servant, but she had done so in a way that wasn't quite like a friend—it was more than that. It was really like an apprentice, just like he said. If Pein didn't know any better, it seemed as if no time had passed between them. Like the years had made no difference in their relationship. Well, with the way both of them still looked like teenagers, maybe it didn't. But the more Pein considered it, the more he felt himself relax towards the idea, and finally he nodded slowly, replying,

"Alright. She came alone, and no one else saw or knows she came here—I suppose I can accept that, considering you didn't even know about any of this. I wish to meet her as well, though."

Sasori nodded, having expected that, and called to her, Mina appearing at his side within moments. Raising an eyebrow at this fact, some smirking at the idea that she was so obedient without Sasori even having to use the puppet master jutsu on her, Kakuzu growled with a glare,

"Didn't anyone teach you it's not polite to eavesdrop?" knowing she couldn't have come that quickly without having been right beside the door—only to narrow his eyes as she stared calmly back at him and responded just as calmly,

"I didn't, Kakuzu-san. The conversation was between you and him. I sensed it all; so I came closer, and then when Sasori-sama called me…"

Once again hearing of her abilities, Pein was intrigued, but shook it off to incline his head in greeting, saying with it,

"Sasori's explained the situation—I'm not about to throw you out, Mina-chan. How long are you planning on staying?"

Glancing at each other, knowing there was no point hiding it any longer, Sasori merely placed his hand upon Mina's shoulder at this, stating bluntly,

"Indefinitely. She's staying with me, Leader-sama."


	13. Chapter 13

"What!?"

Everyone immediately reacted even more strongly to this news than they had to the fact Sasori knew Mina in the first place—though that was to be expected. But still, Sasori had to grit his teeth to deal with them all staring at him in surprise, looking from him to Mina and back as they tried to grasp the situation. It didn't seem quite real: Sasori having had an apprentice in Sunagakure, then being absolutely fine; no—if anything, _happy_—with the idea she had come back to see him, let alone the idea of him being determined to get her to stay with him in the Akatsuki. It just wasn't the kind of thing Sasori would do. He didn't_have_ attachments to people; puppets were all he knew and cared about. He always said that emotions were nothing to him and that his heart had become like his body, so therefore he wouldn't have any ties to anyone in this world.

Yet he wanted her to stay.

Right away Deidara knew that Sasori was serious about this, however, even if he could barely believe what he was hearing and seeing. He wasn't acting different; he was being completely himself. Just wanting Mina included in the atmosphere, evidently. But Deidara could see Sasori was close to her. There had been no big reaction from him in terms of trying to get her to go away, and when he had looked in through the door when Pein had gone to visit them in Sasori's room, he had appeared utterly relaxed in her presence, talking intently in a way Deidara had never seen him be with any other person. They were definitely close, and although it was hard to imagine, Deidara didn't doubt that Mina had been his apprentice. Sasori really did want her to stay.

What Pein would have to say to that, however, no one was sure.  
True, the idea that Sasori had faith in her and she had been his 'apprentice'—of sorts—did have some value, but was it enough? After all, they couldn't let just anyone into the Akatsuki; especially not random strangers who just pitched up out of nowhere—even if Sasori did know her. What had happened in the time they had been apart? What had she done? Better yet, what could she do? Even if Pein allowed himself to _consider_ the possibility of letting her into the Akatsuki—and he wasn't warming up to the idea much—she would need to be good enough that she could help them out. That she would be able to act as a valued member instead of turning out to be a hanger on and weighing them down.

He rubbed his temples; this was completely out of the blue. He'd never imagined this sort of thing occurring, let alone with the likes of Sasori. But he had to do something, and looked back up at Sasori, narrowing his eyes as he stated bluntly,

"Sasori-san, I can't just let her join. I don't know anything about her or what she can do. I won't jeopardise the Akatsuki because of any connections you might have to her—whatever they may be."

"Mina won't be a problem, Leader-sama. She won't interfere; she wouldn't in the first place and I wouldn't let her do so. She'll be able to keep up and she will be able to help. She's not weak. She can hold her own," Sasori instantly shot back, never taking his eyes away from Pein.

In that moment Pein knew things were going to be difficult; with the way Sasori was staring so intensely at him, not backing down in the slightest, he knew he wouldn't be able to deal with this easily. Sasori kept his hand on Mina's shoulder, standing firmly by her side, and Pein got the feeling that went deeper than just the way they were standing now. He wasn't going to let Mina simply leave and not be able to see her again. Sasori was set on having her stay with him and keeping her at his side—and he wasn't afraid to stand up to Pein in order to make that a reality. It wasn't quite disrespect, and nothing so much along the lines of something, say, Hidan would do, but it was still there.  
Pein had to resist the urge to sigh, gritting his teeth in frustration.

But then his eyes swung over Mina. She hadn't said anything since Sasori had spoken his wishes out loud, and continued to remain silent. In a similar way to Sasori, her eyes were half-lidded in that apathetic, indifferent expression he always wore. But now that the problem as to her future had come up, Pein noted a glimmer of fierceness in her own eyes: in the same way that Sasori wasn't about to let him just through Mina out, she wasn't about to let herself get separated from Sasori.

_But of course, _Pein thought. _She's his apprentice. She respects him, obeys him—that's already obvious. She worked hard to find his location and came to see him again after this much time apart, and desperate to see him, by the sounds of things. If that's true, she won't give up on Sasori so easily. She won't go without a fight—she'll do whatever it takes to stay by Sasori's side._

"Pein? What are you going to do?" Konan abruptly cut in quietly from beside him, adding on afterwards, even quieter than before,

"This could turn into a big problem if you're not careful."

But he didn't need Konan to tell him that. He had to keep things civil. He didn't want it to descend into a situation where Sasori felt it necessary to physically prove he was getting Mina to stay. If he pushed and came across too harsh, Sasori might even state he'd leave and go off with Mina, doing whatever he could to avoid them in order to be able to keep her around. Although Pein didn't doubt they'd be able to bring him back—it wasn't Akatsuki policy to let members simply walk out, especially not after Orochimaru—the animosity that would be evident would be huge, and it would only complicate things further. If he was going to get through this, he had to tread carefully.

"Sasori-san. This isn't about just you, here. This is the entire organization. Maybe it would have been easier if it was just you and Deidara on a mission, but even to begin with—we're all here. It's not a decision that can be made just like that. She's a big blank in terms of who she is and what she can do. I can't accept that. Coming here to see you is one thing; even if she was staying the night. But indefinitely? I can't accept that," Pein eventually began again, slower this time, keeping his eyes trained on Sasori to emphasise what he was trying to get across.

Sasori wasn't patient, true, but he considered himself at least rational. Reasonable. Alright; maybe he could understand why Pein was saying all this. Both he and Mina could. But if _Pein_ just understood that nothing would go wrong; that Mina was perfectly capable of being an Akatsuki member and that she would simply act as her name suggested; his shadow. Sasori wasn't asking for more missions for her, for a true initiation or even for her to wear an Akatsuki cloak, if Pein was so set on it. She didn't need one to work with him.

But Sasori wasn't about to back down without Pein realising this.

"Leader-sama—why not let her fight? Show what she can do? Sasori says that she's powerful enough to be on par with all of us, but if you doubt it, why not let her show you herself?"

Flinging his gaze round to the source, Pein was met with Itachi's cool, calm gaze, narrowing his eyes at the proposition. Was it really wise? Was it worth it? If he gave in, it might drag this whole situation out. But then he glanced round at the faces around him and hid a scowl. They were all nodding along; eyes bright at the idea of seeing her abilities when Sasori seemed to hold her so highly in his opinion. Everyone appeared up for the idea—and Pein knew there was no backing out as Deidara said with a smile,

"Yeah! Let her prove herself, un!"

So with no other choice—with no one else willing to go against this idea—Pein turned to Mina and stated simply,

"Fine. Let me see what you can do, Minarai."


	14. Chapter 14

"So I'm guessing I'll be fighting one of you, then?" Mina responded casually, glancing round at the Akatsuki.

She wasn't particularly bothered by the suggestion. Alright; she'd admit it, they were all powerful ninjas, even if fighting alone, and she couldn't tell just how the fight would turn out. But she knew she was powerful as well, and she would do everything within that power to fight back and attempt to win the battle. It's not as if she was helpless. It's not as if she needed Sasori to do everything for her—something she got the feeling some of the Akatsuki thought. Just as Sasori had said, Mina could handle herself. If it meant she had to fight one of the Akatsuki to prove it, then she sure as hell would. It was why she didn't lower her gaze, meeting their eyes squarely whenever any of them turned to look at her. There was nothing she had to hide.

Sasori himself wasn't about to protest to this idea. He knew just like Mina did that she could fight, and fight well. True, it had been a while since he had seen her fight, but considering she had been fifteen then and was now thirty-five, her abilities had no doubt improved greatly. Though he wouldn't be able to state with one hundred percent certainty that Mina would win the battle—especially considering Pein could pick the likes of Itachi as her opponent, and Sasori knew just how incredible a ninja he could be—but he was certain enough that she could hold her own. She didn't need him to act as back up or support her; standing by her side as she fought and telling her exactly what she had to do in order to win—this was something she could do alone.

It was just a matter of who it was going to be that was left unknown.

This was left to Pein. Now that the idea had been brought up, and he knew it was being carried out, he found himself starting to warm up to it slightly. If Sasori was willing to accept her as his 'apprentice', then surely she had some worth as a ninja. Was it the puppet master jutsu once again? Or something more interesting…more unique? It would certainly be interesting to find out, anyway, and so he would have to pick an opponent for her—though trying to remain aloof about the situation throughout. He couldn't just immediately say that if Mina won this then she'd been accepted into the Akatsuki; there were other things to be taken into account. Weren't there? A huge portion of what he had said was a problem was that he doubted Mina would have the power to keep up with them all and be able to fight if the situation arose.

But if she did win…then right away, for the Akatsuki, it would be enough to let her join.

He now looked over his shoulder at the rest of the Akatsuki standing there, and immediately suggestions began to arise as to who the best opponent would be. Hidan was desperate for it to be him, practically yelling at the top of his voice that he was the best choice, voices overlapping as others either suggested themselves or someone else they thought would be the most suitable opponent. Pein, of course, wasn't about to be Mina's opponent himself—he was going to be watching the fight from the sidelines, and he wanted to be able to analyse everything he saw without having to think about fighting as well. But still…any of them could fight her, considering he didn't know about her abilities, and he just wanted to see what she could do…though he couldn't exactly think of someone when all this noise was occurring—causing him to call a halt to everything.

Once everything was quiet, Pein once again returned to his musings as to who it would be—only for Deidara to speak up simply,

"Hey, Leader-sama, un! Let me fight her! I know danna's abilities, so it'll be more of a challenge for her—and if she _does_ join, she'll be partnered with me as well as Sasori-danna. She'll need to know what my abilities are and what I can do, un!"

At first Pein had immediately tried to push Deidara's voice from his mind, not wanting to have to listen to the same thing all over again. But as his words finally wriggled their way into his brain, Pein realised that they might not be so ridiculous. True, Deidara desired to fight Mina in the same way Hidan did…but his reasons were certainly more feasible…and did actually make sense. Even if Pein was still not fully on board with the idea of letting Mina join, the fact that she'd need to know his abilities was a good point—as well as the fact it would be a challenge for her. Taking into account she was Sasori's apprentice, then she was weaker than him; so she would have to work harder to defeat him. And he couldn't deny that the idea of watching this fight was starting to grow on him, even if the consequences weren't something he was sure of, and as such, after a minute or two of silence, Pein finally responded quietly,

"Alright. Deidara-san—you will be Mina-chan's opponent."

His eyes lighting up at the possibility, Deidara grinned, ready for anything, walking down the corridor to the exit quickly. He wanted to get started right away, and that meant finding a good place for a battleground. What Mina could do, he didn't know. But he sure as hell would counter whatever it was she threw at him.

_Of course, _Pein thought wearily. _Mina is Sasori's disciple—she agrees with his view on art. Deidara, however, considers it the opposite, and though it might not be Sasori he's fighting, if it means defeating even a disciple of his, Deidara's willing to do it, and do it with a smile on his face. A way to get back at him—to get one up on him—I suppose…_

Everyone swiftly followed Deidara's path, Kisame catching up with him to chat about the battle to come. Some, however, weren't as quick, Hidan grumbling to himself about how he'd wanted to get picked to fight Mina, Kakuzu instantly telling him to shut up and stop acting like a child in response to not getting picked for something. He'd get to see the fight, and he'd just have to accept that fact. Itachi paused to take a look at Mina's reaction, but in a similar way to Sasori, nothing showed on her face. She merely took the information in and accepted it for what it was, and smirking at how alike they were, Itachi shook his head and turned to follow on after the others, wondering just how this was going to turn out.

Sasori wasn't fazed by this knowledge, either. Deidara was an idiot, and he didn't doubt Mina would be able to defeat him. Hopefully in a way that was totally humiliating and embarrassing and would prove once and for all that his opinion on art was complete and utter bullshit. Mina didn't want to fail either. She was his apprentice, after all, and therefore felt she was almost representing him in battle. It was because of her that he had gotten into this situation; if she didn't do the best she could do—if she didn't do whatever she could to beat Deidara, then she might not be allowed to stay. What would that make Sasori look like after he'd said all that just now to defend her? Mina admired and respected Sasori more than anyone in the world. If it wasn't for him she wouldn't be where she was now. She couldn't embarrass him.

With that thought in mind, Mina glanced at Sasori with a nod, then began to walk down the hallway towards the exit as well, mentally preparing herself for whatever was to come. Sasori joined her at her side, and this only brought everything even_more_ to the surface. Because what else would happen if she didn't succeed? She'd be turned away. Maybe Pein would allow her to stay for a little while, but he would do all he could do to make sure she was left behind when they left after finishing their mission. Sasori knew it too. He'd promised Mina that she could stay once again as his apprentice—that she wasn't about to go anywhere now they'd met up again—but Pein was doing what he could to get rid of her. Not that Sasori would pay any attention to it. But Mina was defiant and determined as she continued out of the hideout, following the others as they searched for a battlefield. She might not know what Deidara was going to throw at her when the battle begun, but she knew one thing—

_There was no way she could lose. _


	15. Chapter 15

"I'd ask if you're ready for this, but I know you can handle it, regardless of whether you know of his abilities or not," Sasori abruptly spoke up softly from beside Mina, prompting her to glance over at him as he walked beside her. Knowing he trusted her abilities enough to leave it be, she still responded firmly,

"Don't tell me what he can do. I'll find out soon enough, and it needs to be the same as it would in any other situation."

"I don't plan to, Mina. Deidara's abilities aren't anything to be impressed by, anyway," Sasori shot back bluntly, and smirking at that fact, Mina goaded him for a little more information on why they were like this towards each other.

But through it all, she remained calm and composed. True, she flexed her muscles as she walked, rolling her shoulders to get her body ready to fight, but it wasn't a nervous thing. She just wanted to be at her best—though she felt a slight excitement and anticipation at the upcoming battle, allowing her mind to prepare, too. The adrenaline began to get going, and Mina breathed in the night air, a smirk flashing over her face, ready for anything. She enjoyed fighting—though not as much as, say, Kisame or Hidan—and with her determination and resolve to win this fight, Mina was about to use everything to her advantage against Deidara.

Hearing a call a little way away from her, Mina looked round to see Hidan calling them over, having found a good place to situate the battle. Nodding in acceptance, both Mina and Sasori walked over to it, looking over it with an appraising eye. It was a large flat expanse of land, the trees disappearing as the edge of the lake appeared just up ahead. It allowed for the room needed for battle, though there were no rules stating that it couldn't be taken elsewhere. It gave both of them cover if needed, and with the lake nearby, gave the option of being able to use water jutsu if either of them wanted to use some. It was a good place for the battle to take place, and after Mina had spun round slowly, taking everything in, in her surroundings, she faced the rest once more and nodded, agreeing with their choice.

Straight away the others began to head to the outskirts of the clearing to watch from there, only needing to wait for the rest to turn up before the match could start. Mina and Deidara stayed where they were, preparing for the fight, Sasori leaving her with a smirk, saying quietly,

"Good luck, Mina. Not that you'll need it."

Feeling her determination rise with those words, she bowed slightly in his direction—she wouldn't let him down. As such, she turned her gaze to Deidara, making mental notes about him as she went. She had seen as he walked away that he wore a scope on his left eye, normally covered by his bangs, for the most part. But straight away that marked him as a long-range fighter. Ego was obviously a big matter for him; if someone damaged _that_, then no doubt he would be truly affected. And a huge part of his ego was his art. He didn't believe there was anything better, so it was a weak spot. If she could take down his 'art', maybe stop him before he could use it—though she had no idea what it was at this point—then it would get to him, and Deidara wouldn't be focusing as much on strategy. This was a battle he was desperate to win—after what Sasori had said about their arguments on art, obviously he wanted to prove him wrong.

Not that Mina was about to let that happen.

A few moments later and Pein arrived, everyone standing just within the trees to watch as things went on. Both of them were beginning to get a little impatient by this point; they wanted to get going and fight. But knowing that pointing that out constantly wouldn't get things started any quicker, they kept quiet, watching Pein carefully for any signs that they could begin. He talked for a moment with Sasori, then finally turned, glancing from Deidara to Mina, and stated simply,

"Begin."

Instantly spinning to face Deidara, her muscles tensed in readiness to fight, she widened her eyes as a bird appeared inches from her from the side, and seeing Deidara raise his hands, Mina quickly gathered what was about to happen. Throwing up her arms, she built up her chakra within them, pushing it out through hands and forming it into a shield around her just in time. She wasn't left unscathed; large scratches and cuts were left across her forearms, dripping blood as she stood there—but she wasn't dead, and she hadn't been thrown to the floor with the impact. But Mina had learnt a few things. That was his art—explosives. That was why he disagreed with Sasori so much. And that he wasn't as stupid as he might seem with that smug smirk on his face all the time. He was intelligent when it came down to getting his bombs close to his opponents—that was clear enough. So Mina would have to be on her toes; but she could counter it.

Dodging out of the smoke and rubble left behind from the explosion, Mina darted towards him. If he was a long-range fighter, he'd be weaker in close combat—she'd take advantage of that. Though she didn't get far before more bombs headed her way; but she was ready for them this time. Throwing out her chakra, she integrated it with the bombs, and manipulating it outwards, the clay creatures shattered into pieces, manoeuvring them round until they were right beside him and once again putting them back together—then as he began to detonate another bomb, while Mina grabbed it and destroyed it, the one right next to him detonated too; though she found he'd managed to get away just in time as the smoke cleared.

Now he knew he'd underestimated her; she might look innocent, but Mina was anything but. Not only that, but he'd imagined she'd use the puppet master jutsu too—not that she'd use something utterly unique—that had this power. But Mina wasn't done yet, quickly using a jutsu that turned the ground beneath Deidara's feet to quicksand and ultimately leaving him trapped where he was, unable to move his feet. Swiftly taking advantage of this, Mina sped forward, ready for close combat—but Deidara's hands were still free, and making a sculpture as fast as he could, it grew to 10x the size it was before. From there it took off; but not before grabbing hold of Deidara, who used more explosives to break himself free, allowing the bird to carry him away from Mina and leaving her having to dodge several other bombs in the meantime.

_Clearly his sculptures can be used for more than just bombs—though they'll all end up the same way, _Mina mused to herself as she dodged some more, then quickly unleashing her chakra in a form that was less like chakra strings, and more like chakra rope. It was with this that she pulled herself forward and onto his bird, finally forcing him into close combat. Widening his eyes, Deidara had no choice but to defend himself, trying to think of something to get away from her.

But he didn't get much of an opportunity, as Mina acted before he could even carry anything out, doing the same thing she had done to his other bombs—breaking them into pieces. Being prepared for this herself, she knew what to do, but having not seen this coming, Deidara simply plummeted, helped along with a kick to his stomach from Mina. She, however, landed safely in the branches of a nearby tree, watching as Deidara recovered from the fall and moved further away, albeit with blood running from his mouth, clearly showing signs of the battle now. But he wasn't done yet, grabbing more clay from another pouch, murmuring,

"That's how you want it, un? Fine. I'll show you what my art can _really_ do."

Mina immediately tensed; with those words, it seemed clear he was about to up the strength of his explosives—she would have to be fast to avoid these, or risk much bigger injuries than she had now. This time she brought out some kunai, running through different strategies that Deidara might use to get that bomb in point blank range. She was beginning to get an understanding of his abilities now, coming up with ways to counter them—ways that would be revealed soon, as Deidara raised his hand, starting to pull out whatever it was he'd made.

"That's enough!"


	16. Chapter 16

Snapping their gazes round towards the source of the shout, Deidara and Mina stared back at Pein as he stepped forward, calling a halt to their battle. Narrowing her eyes, Mina tried to come up with a reason as to why he wouldn't let them continue—surely it couldn't be because he didn't want her to get hurt. He wasn't even sure about her being around the hideout, so why would it bother him? The very idea itself made Mina's hackles rise; she didn't want to have to be pulled out of a match because people thought she wouldn't be able to carry it through. Deidara was just as annoyed; he'd wanted to win right from the beginning, and to fully get her back for what Mina had done to him while they had been fighting. But he couldn't exactly do that if they stopped, and so half-glared at Pein for making them do so.

"I have a reason for finishing the fight before an end had arrived," he began, and both of them stared him down in an attempt to silently ask as to what that reason was. They weren't about to give up on this battle without a feasible excuse, and waited impatiently as Pein finally added,

"No doubt with the way you were acting, Deidara, you were going to start use C3 explosives. But if you remember, we're trying to remain a low presence for our mission; though the hideout is a few minutes from the village, with the strength of your bombs it wouldn't take much for someone to notice. If they see it, they'll no doubt send someone to look, and all we've been trying to do will come to nothing—not to mention the hideout is only a minute away, and a powerful enough bomb will end up destroying that, as well. So I thought it best to stop before anything too big occurred," then inserting as an afterthought,

"And I think we've all seen enough to understand the power of your abilities."

Though neither Deidara or Mina were fully alright with Pein's reasoning, they both understood it made sense—if they got too involved, Deidara would use whatever bombs were necessary, and those kind of bombs would destroy so much in the nearby area. With it being night time, as well, it wouldn't be hard to see the end results of the explosion from the village. So, as much as they didn't want to, they alighted back on the ground and walked over to the others once again. Not wanting to create an atmosphere between the two of them, however, Mina crossed the clearing to offer a hand to Deidara, and after a moment of staring at it in confusion, he shook it. With a smile, Mina then continued across the clearing, leaving Deidara happily surprised. She did have a _little_ bit of innocence, then. Clearly she wasn't about to tease or brag about anything that had happened on the battlefield; she simply saw it as a fight, and nothing more. But shaking it off, Deidara joined her. Maybe she wasn't _so_ bad.

At least she wasn't as grumpy as Sasori.

Itachi offered Mina bandages to help with the cuts on her arms, but she merely shook her head, brushing them off. She might need to clean the dirt off, but apart from that they would heal by themselves—and it was at that point everyone noticed that she wasn't bleeding from her wounds; already they seemed less visible than they had when she had received them. Raising an eyebrow at that fact, wondering just how she was able to do that, Itachi shrugged and stepped back, allowing her to start heading back to the hideout, Deidara taking the bandages instead. For a moment everyone watched her back as she walked onwards, before turning to Sasori, curious as to all they had seen. True, they'd observed what her abilities were like in battle, but they didn't actually know what they involved, Pein asking Sasori to elaborate a little.

"It's because of her help—because of studying her anatomy—that I was able to change myself into a puppet. Mina's body isn't the same as everyone else's—chakra runs through her veins, Leader-sama, not blood. Though she has all her vital organs in a way I no longer do, she doesn't need them; she simply eats and drinks because she thinks it looks or smells good. Her heart and brain are practically more like machines than anything else."

Narrowing his eyes at Sasori's words, Pein couldn't help but be impressed—much the same as the rest of the Akatsuki. They'd never imagined that this was the kind of thing that allowed Mina to do what she could—but they pressed for more information; what exactly did she do to do all that stuff? Rolling his eyes at their sudden interest, Sasori hid a sigh and complied, replying,

"There are ways in which it's similar to the puppet master jutsu. She can create chakra strings, true, but she can also manipulate that chakra into other shapes and forms. She can create shields or just use it as a weapon in itself. What she did with Deidara's birds…she integrated her chakra into the clay, and manipulating it from there, she forced it to break apart. She can reverse the process, too. In essence, the forms she can make her chakra take are unlimited."

Then abruptly remembering something, he quickly added,

"It's because of the way her chakra is that means she still looks as young as she does—why she doesn't really bleed and how her wounds heal by themselves."

As he fell silent, to begin with, no one broke the silence, thinking over all Sasori had told them in shock and almost awe. Deidara had had no idea that Mina could do anything like that, and wasn't so surprised at how the battle had turned out. He knew Sasori's abilities were powerful, but Mina's took that idea to a whole other level, and having expected one thing and then being presented with something completely different—something that no one else in the world was able to do, it wasn't such a shock that she had caught him out like that. He would have won if he was actually allowed to fight properly and use all of his bombs, of course, but still. It was pretty artistic.

But with all this knowledge and having watched the whole fight, no one doubted that Mina was powerful enough to be in the Akatsuki. Pein's fears that she wouldn't be able to keep up if she went around with Sasori, only becoming a liability if drawn into battle because she wouldn't be able to protect herself…they'd easily been proven wrong. Now the possibility of having Mina working with them, being able to see the full extent of her abilities on a true battlefield and against numerous different opponents seemed like an exciting one, and all of the Akatsuki were on board with letting her stay. After all, that had been the deal—if Mina proved she was good enough with her abilities then she'd be allowed into the Akatsuki.

Pein wasn't quite as certain that had been what he said. Mina's abilities had been just one of the factors he said he would have to take into account when considering whether he would let Sasori keep her around. Sure, he'd said that she could prove her abilities, but that wasn't all that had concerned him. But he doubted anything he said would have an effect; the moment he had stated that Mina would fight one of the Akatsuki to show her abilities were powerful enough, the rest of the Akatsuki had made their own conclusions. They'd seen it as a deal in which, if she proved herself, then she was in. Though it wasn't as if he hadn't been impressed. It wasn't as if he didn't think Mina could do it—clearly she could. And with her unwavering loyalty to Sasori—he'd seen her bow to him before the fight—she wouldn't have done anything that would put him in danger.

Everyone followed on behind Pein as he caught up with Mina as she arrived at the hideout, standing and watching as he stated quietly,

"You proved yourself out there, Minarai-chan. I had my doubts beforehand; I'll admit it. But taking everything into account…I'd say you can stay."


	17. Chapter 17

Automatically a smile flared up onto Mina's face with Pein's words.

Though she had done all she could with her fight against Deidara, and personally, she thought she'd done pretty well, she hadn't known what Pein's opinion had been. But to have him come up to her like this and tell her she could stay—to tell her that what she'd been hoping for from the start could finally come true—for a moment there wasn't anything she could say in response. All Mina had been concentrating on was getting to Sasori; convincing everyone that she deserved to stay and could remain with him. She had almost been so focused on those parts that she had forgotten about the possibility of it actually turning out this way. Wondering just what she should say in response, not quite sure how to reply, Mina eventually nodded, still smirking softly as she gazed up into Pein's eyes.

Glad she had finally responded, beginning to ponder if she was alright with all that had happened, Pein nodded in return, unable to stop a slight smirk from flashing across his own face. Mina carried something utterly alike to Sasori's features, it was true, revealing nothing of what she might be feeling on the inside with that same porcelain apathetic visage. Yet at the same time there was an innocence about her that Sasori couldn't replicate. With her big brown eyes and soft features, she seemed vulnerable sometimes—though Pein had seen only a moment ago that that wasn't entirely true, if at all—and as if she needed someone there to look after and protect her. And though Pein knew Mina was more than capable of taking care of herself, a part of him couldn't help but feel she _did_ need someone there; it was why she had approached Sasori right from the beginning.

Though how Sasori had been willing to take up that job, Pein wasn't so certain.

Shaking that thought off for the moment, he stepped past Mina and into the hideout, continuing on down the corridor and towards his room, leaving her behind to watch as the others finally caught up. Turning round, Mina was instantly swept inside by the rest of the Akatsuki, along the hallway and then into the living room, where they finally let her go and stepped back to properly face her. After all, she had arrived out of nowhere and had instantly disappeared to Sasori's room. They hadn't seen her the entire time, and when she had come out, it had been taken up by battle and discussion over whether she would be allowed to stay. Now that she _was_ staying, however, they were more than free to get introduced to one another. So taking his cue, Deidara stepped forward, offering a hand with a smirk as he greeted,

"I'm Deidara—as you probably already heard from before. I'm Sasori-danna's partner, un."

Taking his hand, nodding in return to his greeting and glad she wouldn't have to deal with any bad feelings from the fight earlier, Mina responded,

"Yeah, it was said. Your fighting styles differ, though—do you get on?"

Though with that question, Deidara immediately paused, unsure quite how to answer it. They weren't exactly mortal enemies and always at each others throats like Hidan and Kakuzu were, but then again…Smirking at his reaction, gathering there was a slight shred of animosity between them, Mina didn't get a chance to say anything more, as Deidara was shepherded onwards to allow everyone else to get their turn with introducing themselves. She glanced over at him, but doubting she'd get another moment to ask, Mina shook her head and focused on the next Akatsuki member. She'd simply question Sasori later when she had the time.

After all—she would be spending most of hers around him.

It was with this thought, however, that Mina automatically settled into a strange sense of calm, chatting casually to all who introduced themselves and spoke to her without showing a hint of irritation at all. Though she wanted to talk to Sasori, it was true, the thoughts and ideas whirling about her head kept the irritation at bay, meaning she was completely tranquil when Deidara finally led her off and showed her to her room, pointing out the rest of the hideout on the way. Mina hadn't been sure how this would all turn out when she arrived at the hideout, but she could say for certain now that things had gone so much better than she ever could have hoped.

This thought remained as Deidara left her in her room alone and she sat on the edge of her bed, lost in her trance. Mina was definitely looking forward to this. The work would be better, the atmosphere…but most of all, Sasori. Because when it came down to it, even back in Sunagakure she had only spent six months with him, regardless of how well they knew each other. Now was a time to catch up and finally spend some more time together. To fulfil the promises they had made back then but never had the chance to keep when everything had gone wrong. Just thinking about it brought a sheen of happiness to settle over her, and it seemed only now Mina was realising just how much she'd missed Sasori when they'd been apart.

But thinking about Sasori, Mina knew she could nip that feeling in the bud, standing swiftly and heading out her door, passing a quick glance over her room as she shut the door softly behind her. It was better than she had expected to be, but then so much about this organization had been. Keeping that in mind, Mina set off down the corridor, already knowing where Sasori's room was considering it was the first room she had been to in the hideout—plus, from the looks of things, he was still in there if her sensing abilities were anything to go by.

Glad she wouldn't have to try and lure him away from one of the communal rooms, Mina went over and knocked quietly but firmly on the door, waiting for a few moments afterwards. But once she knew he would be ready, she opened the door and went inside, seeing him facing the door, his mouth open and ready to give confirmation for whoever was outside. Obviously not needing it now, Mina simply closed the door, bowing quickly, and sat in the space she had occupied when she had come in before; nearest to his chair and the desk where he had been working. Sasori couldn't back a smirk as she did all of this, however, eventually shaking his head slightly and turning back round, glancing up to state matter-of-factly,

"You always knew when I was going to let someone in, Mina; you never even needed to wait for me to say anything," then thinking of something, he added abruptly, "Then again, considering how long we knew each other…"

Suddenly remembering what she had been thinking of only a few minutes earlier, Mina cut in quietly,

"Well, we didn't actually know each other that long, Sasori-sama, though we spent a lot of time together."

Glancing back at her with another smirk of amusement at how she was never one to forget any details, however small, Sasori considered it, but pushed it aside after only a moment. Mina had resolved the problem—if it could be called a 'problem' in the first place—in her sentence to begin with; they'd spent so much time together it had made up for the lack of overall time they had known each other.

"True, Mina—but it's not like that matters now, does it? You're working with me again; and it's not going to be as short as before. We've both grown since Sunagakure. Nothing will cut it short this time; I'll make sure of it."

It was exactly what Mina wanted to hear.


	18. Chapter 18

Curling her legs towards her body, Mina wrapped her arms around her knees to keep them there, merely watching Sasori for a few moments longer. It almost didn't seem believable. It had been twenty years—_twenty years_—since she had last seen him, and the first time it had only been for a few seconds. Though Mina didn't want it in the slightest, it strangely felt as if she should be leaving soon. That she had come to visit Sasori; she'd spoken to him, spent some time with him, but now that that had been completed, she'd have to leave. That it had been too long with them being apart to simply start working together and spending time with each other like before. Mina would admit that, at least—it was definitely strange to suddenly be faced with that prospect. Even in Sunagakure, there had only been six months they had spent together as friends and teammates.

But she tried to shake that feeling off. Like she'd thought—she didn't want to leave, not in the slightest. Staying with Sasori was what she'd wanted to do from the beginning when meeting him and she wouldn't throw it away because things felt a little unusual at the start. The circumstances weren't exactly how Mina had imagined them when they'd planned on leaving Sunagakure all those years, but they didn't matter. In a way, they were just as good—maybe even better—than any. Sasori could get missions, and missions that were good enough for his talent. He could get plenty of puppets for his collection along the way, and although Pein had been uncertain of allowing Mina to join, it's not as if help wouldn't be welcome in their line of work. True, this could all start off feeling a little unbelievable…but it would only feel perfect once she settled in.

"So that Deidara…he's your partner then, Sasori-sama?" Mina eventually said quietly, moving past their conversation about Mina finally getting the chance to become his apprentice and remain that way. Every time it was spoken about it brought up a feeling of tingly happiness inside of her, and not used to it, she attempted to dodge past it, waiting to hear Sasori's answer to her question.

"Yes—unfortunately. He's alright—I suppose—but I had no doubt you could defeat him. Well, if Leader had allowed the match to continue," he countered soon after, causing a smirk of pride to blossom on Mina's face. She looked up to Sasori; admired and respected him. Hearing such a compliment made her feel utterly content to know she hadn't disappointed him.

"His abilities were quite unlike yours. And with the sculptures…I can't help but feel he sees what he can do as art as well—like your puppets are, Sasori-sama."

"He does; but he thinks art is transient; that it shouldn't last," Sasori instantly shot back, a scowl flashing across his features. Mina narrowed her eyes; evidently there was the source of their animosity. But she could understand why, responding with a raised eyebrow in disdain,

"But what's the point in anything if it's not going to last? Everything is needed to last long into the future if life itself is to continue. How can you appreciate its beauty if it's only to disappear?"

At this point Sasori could only turn to glance at Mina, unable to say anything for the moment; his only answer a soft, absentminded smile. He had never tried to force his opinion on art onto her; he told her what he did, what he believed in in terms of art, and found that she naturally agreed with him. There were times she even finished sentences for him, stating things without him even prompting a conversation. Maybe it was because she was able to live forever with the way her body was, but she admired eternity just like he did. He observed the look on her face as she spoke about Deidara, his smile remaining as he was reminded of how similar they were in many ways. Without even noticing he relaxed completely into his surroundings.

He was glad Mina was back.

It wasn't until she glanced up at him expectantly and a little confused that Sasori realised what he was doing and snapped his gaze back round to his puppets once more. He hadn't meant to stare at her the way he had been doing; it had just happened, his thoughts taking over to the point where he forgot what he was doing in real time. That kind of thing hadn't happened to him in…well, he couldn't remember, but it was a bit of a surprise to be experiencing it again. Though considering he had found out Mina was actually _alive_ only a few hours ago, it was generally to be expected. But knowing she wanted a reply, Sasori shook off his silence and responded,

"You think I don't know that? It's why puppets are my art. But it's not as if Deidara listens. He's stuck in his own world for the most part."

"But still…you've done so well, Sasori-sama. Joining the Akatsuki and all. How many puppets do you have in your collection now?"

"269. (Yes I know that's not the amount he actually had, but it's before he's reached that amount, 'kay?) But you've also done well, Mina," Sasori shot back, causing Mina to blink in surprise, not quite understanding his statement. The number of puppets was impressive, but the idea she'd done well…the compliment was one Mina wanted to accept—just not one she could.

"Done well, Sasori-sama? What do you mean? I haven't done anything special," she protested quietly, only for Sasori shake his head and reply bluntly,

"No; but the way you held yourself out there; how you fought and what you did. You've always been talented, but you've certainly improved since Suna."

Smirking at the mention of her abilities, Mina shrugged imperceptibly. Memories of the training she had done in the time that had passed came back to her, and the smirk remained. The idea that Sasori had left Suna, taking the Third Kazekage as a new puppet and going to be turning himself into one, greatly increasing his power, while she stayed behind, the same level at her abilities…it was not an idea she had liked. So when she had left, she had done everything she could to train herself, increasing her own power and discovering new facets to her talents. Though Mina wasn't with Sasori as she travelled, she liked to think that she wasn't letting him down while she went on alone.

"I trained any way I could, Sasori-sama. You were still alive, and though I wasn't with you, I was still your apprentice. I wanted to make sure I was good enough. That—when I met you again—you wouldn't be disappointed in me."

But as she raised her eyes, meeting Sasori's own, wondering just what he would have to say to that, she couldn't stop herself from smiling as he stated simply in return, a smirk on his lips and a playful glint in his eye,

"Well…we'll see, won't we?"

"We certainly will," Mina returned in much the same tone, nodding towards the puppet on the table and asking what he was working on.

It was where Mina stayed for the rest of the night, catching up on some new puppet techniques Sasori had learned and seeing the battle adaptions he'd been adding to his puppets. She'd never had the chance to truly study many human puppets, having been separated from Sasori soon after, but now she was seeing so much more, and abruptly…everything fell away. Mina forgot about the Akatsuki; forgot about everything but spending time with Sasori.

She wasn't going to be leaving any time soon—she knew that now.

She wasn't going to be leaving _at all._


	19. Chapter 19

Opening her eyes, Mina smirked as her mind automatically took in the change in scenery and she realised just where she was. True, this might not be a place she'd be staying for long, but it was an Akatsuki hideout nonetheless, and that meant part of her new life. There had been no difficulty for her in getting to sleep—but then she'd never experienced that. She'd been to too many places, seen too many things to ever let anything interrupt her state of mind, and had fallen asleep as if it was her childhood home. But there had been a familiarity about the situation. Like many a time before, Mina had spent a large portion of her night with Sasori, before he eventually stated she would need to at least get a little bit of sleep and told her to leave, and doing so, she had ambled contentedly to her room and to bed.

The circumstances might have changed, but the basic routine hadn't.

Though the idea of routine popping up into Mina's head, she realised that there were things to be done today—things she didn't know about. That Akatsuki had already been on their mission when she had come here, and now she would have to join in; she needed to catch up, and as such she swiftly climbed out from underneath the covers. It was the work of mere seconds to get dressed and get herself ready, making sure she was presentable in her slightly perfectionist way, before heading out of her room and back down towards the living room and kitchen. She considered the idea of meeting up with Sasori first, but no doubt, considering he never slept in the first place, he was already there, and shaking off that notion, Mina continued on, the Akatsuki's voices reaching her before she saw them all in full detail.

But as one noticed her, they all followed, call out greetings and mentioning not only the fact of her first morning as an Akatsuki member, but of the cloak she was now wearing, causing her to pause slightly. When she had come back to her room last night, she had found it lying on her bed, and, naturally, had put it on this morning as part of the dress of the organization. But she hadn't hesitated to look at herself in the mirror as to what it looked like, having not really thought about it, only now beginning to see that it marked her more as an Akatsuki member than anything else did. So smirking at that fact, she simply accepted their words, pointing out that she didn't need to eat when Deidara invited her to join them, causing Deidara to smirk and state the similarity between her and Sasori.

Though with a mention of Sasori's name, Mina immediately began to look for him, and spotted him a second later sitting on the couch. Leaving the table the moment she did so, she headed over and bowed, greeting him softly, only caught out as he paused upon returning her gaze. Wondering what was wrong, thinking she should have done something or that maybe she should have turned up earlier, the worry was brushed aside as he simply stated a moment later,

"The cloak, Mina. It looks good on you."

But she had nothing to say in return to that.

It was a kind of situation she—and Sasori—came to grow used to over the next couple of days. Words weren't a problem for either of them. They were down-to-earth people and were able to explain things in a simple way, regardless of what it was. And yet there came times—that became more and more numerous—where neither of them had a clue what to say. Maybe if they had been looking on from the outside; if it had been another person talking to someone and they had needed to reply and asked them; then they might have been able to come up with a response. But having to be in the situation themselves…and suddenly there was nothing.

Only things were different, and both Mina and Sasori knew they were. They'd been close in Sunagakure, that was obvious—she hadn't been called his 'Kage Ayatsuri-ningyō' for nothing—and still, that fact hadn't changed, regardless of any factors that might have affected things. They were still good friends, finding it easy to talk to each other, being able to understand each other and connect without even trying. Both of them could see their friendship was still evident as they went about the mission and began working together again, and couldn't help but be relieved at the idea—a small part of them had been worried that too much had changed and would have been lost in the time that had passed.

But instead it seemed to have had the opposite effect. Twenty years had gone by without seeing each other, and it was almost as if they were closer. Mina knew for sure it had made things different…but she couldn't help but think it wasn't in a bad way. In the same sense she had experienced when meeting him again the first time, there were still moments when she felt that warm, contented feeling—as well as something else. She had dismissed it as just being content at getting to be with Sasori again, but this unusual feeling was stopping her from being able to do so. It hovered in the background, sometimes confusing her, and at first, almost _scaring_ her, though slowly, as she got used to it, it became sort of…enjoyable. A sort of…tickling feeling in the pit of her stomach. But it always appeared when she spent a lot of time with Sasori. She would just sit and watch him; but not what he was doing. Just…him. So many things about the way he looked and was that she had never noticed. Mina had always seen him as her master considering she was his apprentice…

But she didn't know what she considered him as anymore.

Sasori understood that mind-set, of course. From the start, like Mina, it had been a master-apprentice relationship. They were closer than that, he'd known it, but still, that had been entwined with the rest. But now…now he often gave up on work he was doing to glance over at her; absentmindedly smiling at the expression on her face. Even when she wasn't there he'd found himself doing it, and he couldn't comprehend why. Just the idea Mina was back and with him again was one he discovered himself cherishing. He felt a surge of pride whenever he showed her the puppets he'd made while they'd been apart—staring at her face as she awed at the Third Kazekage. Flickers of emotion flashed through him during the mission, but he had no idea what they were. Sasori was beginning to think if they had been quick, overwhelming bouts it would have been better, instead of it being constant—always there, but not fully at the surface. Why was he doing this? Sure, Mina was back, but nothing had changed between them. They had both known this and could see it.

So what was happening?

Not that anyone could tell; to the rest they were as emotionless as ever in their expressions—even though they did find it unusual the amount of time they spent together and their actions towards each other. It was all inwardly that it was being experienced; all having worked its way up after twenty years of time had gone by. Yes, with the way they were with their emotions, it wasn't like it was easy for them to understand, but it was there all the same. In Sunagakure Sasori and Mina had both been fifteen—just children. Maybe they had been much more mature than the rest, whether adult or juvenile, but they had been children all the same. Now, however, and that wasn't the case. Yes, they had been close friends back then, with the added factor of a master and apprentice. But friends as children isn't the same as friends as adults. Things change. Feelings change. Teenage emotions become adult—

And feelings are suddenly a lot deeper; stronger than you ever could have thought.


	20. Chapter 20

The mission was going well so far.

They'd been gathering all the information they needed, and although they had only been there a few days, they'd made a lot of progress. None of the group had any idea there was an Akatsuki hideout nearby; let alone that the entirety of the Akatsuki were staying in it, planning on taking them down—and Mina came to be very useful with that. As she had been working on missions with another few missing nins already when they had arrived, she had been through the village while it had been going on; to shops and an inn. Pein had thought this was going to be a problem at first—that Mina wouldn't be able to go into the village as she would be recognised and, taking all suspicions into account, alarm bells would soon begin to ring.

But then he realised that he could take advantage of her previous knowledge of the area. While the rest of the Akatsuki worked on the information that had to be obtained through espionage, Mina was able to walk casually through the village as if she were another civilian, making her own excuses as to why she was there. From inside, she heard and saw things the others didn't; was able to reach places they couldn't and wouldn't be suspicious. All the village saw her as was another ninja who had been passing through while doing a mission, and had obviously left her group to start out on her own; maybe to take a break from that life. There had been nothing on her that suggested her power or connections, and no one thought twice about her presence.

The Akatsuki in the hideout were beginning to adapt to hers. She answered questions when asked them and was willing to talk, she didn't get in anyone's way or offend anyone—although she didn't agree with Deidara's view on art, she allowed Sasori to argue, simply enjoying the spectacle from the sidelines. Seeing as Mina, too, couldn't eat, there were no low food supplies, and her situation with the village meant she could buy stuff that they wouldn't have been able to have otherwise. She was a powerful fighter—though they'd known that since her fight with Deidara—and adaptable to whatever she needed to do, so overall they were fine with her being in the Akatsuki. Sure, they wouldn't be able to really get on with her, considering her disposition followed along the same lines as Sasori, being utterly apathetic and distant from everyone, but then no one was exactly BFFs in the Akatsuki.

Well, apart from Sasori and Mina, actually.

Everyone had known they'd been pretty good friends in Sunagakure—obviously, or otherwise Mina wouldn't have made such an effort; including going to an Akatsuki hideout, to find and meet Sasori again. Then how he had been so serious about getting her to stay in the Akatsuki, even with Pein's reaction and hesitance at the idea, it was clear they were close. Now that still remained evident with how they talked so much and she followed him around, clearly proving her nickname utterly right—she spent more time in his room than she did in her own, sticking by his side and doing what he said if he asked it of her. At first Deidara had found it hilarious, smirking every time he glanced over at them. But soon he found it wasn't like that; that somehow how they were with each other wasn't the way people thought it was.

But they were catching up on all the time they'd missed. Mina showed Sasori all the different things she'd learnt to do with her abilities since Sunagakure, having trained herself as much as she could to remain strong while she travelled. She told him about what she'd done in the twenty years that had gone by; all the different ninjas she'd worked for and all the different places that she'd worked in—and Sasori was surprised. The Akatsuki moved around a lot with their missions, travelling from place to place with how they were hired for things and then searching for the Jinchuuriki, and yet it seemed like Mina had done just as much as they had done—if not more. Then again, she was alone and didn't have things to slow her down; no ties to anywhere or anyone that kept her in a place for longer than she needed to be—not that she minded now she was with Sasori again.

He, in turn, showed her what he had done while they had been apart. He showed her the entirety of his puppet collection—considering they had a lot to go through—and took her over the Third Kazekage, never tiring of how much pleasure she took in seeing it. He told her about the jutsus he'd learnt; how he'd made himself a more powerful puppet master and made sure that the weaknesses and puppeteer had he was able to counter. Which then brought up the main conversation one night, having been leading up to it all along.

"But…Sasori-sama…when you—well, we—were in Sunagakure, you had plans. You hadn't carried them out, but you were going to adapt your body to get rid of its weaknesses. I assume they worked, considering you haven't aged since then, but…can I see it?" Mina said quietly as they talked in his room, keeping her eyes trained on Sasori's without blinking, glinting with excitement and anticipation in the half-light.

He had been going to do it soon; but Mina had 'died' before he had done it, and by the time he had actually carried it out, he was gone, and they were separated. But now they were together and again, and smirking, abruptly slightly excited himself, Sasori nodded and responded casually,

"Of course, Mina. I wouldn't have been able to do it if it wasn't for you."

Both of them then stood, trying hard to fight back those hovering feelings this situation was suddenly bringing up, managing to remain calm and composed as Sasori stepped to the side and reached for his cloak. Yet somehow the action carried more weight than it should have done; Mina felt strangely—embarrassed—albeit in a very bemused way with how Sasori was taking off his cloak. She knew he was doing it to show her how he had altered his body; but something inside of her felt it wasn't like that. That it was…just because. Sasori felt the same; although having had other people seen it when he fought…this was different. This felt more personal, and—the part that got to him the most—he _liked_ it.

Then finally he finished with his cloak, having had it feel like several minutes to both of them, and pulled it off, placing it on the back of his chair. Turning back to look at Mina, for a moment Sasori wasn't sure what she felt about it. There didn't seem to be any expression on her face that would give something away, and he narrowed his eyes, slightly worried she was disappointed in what she was seeing. But then abruptly she looked up to meet his gaze, and a smirk flickered onto Sasori's features. Mina's face might not have revealed anything, but her eyes did. They glittered with awe and amazement—still excited about what she could see.

"Can—can I?" She whispered softly, and Sasori nodded in consent, the smirk never leaving his features.

Immediately Mina stepped forward, reaching out to trace her fingers across what now functioned as Sasori's body. The strength…the engineering…the adaptions…it was all perfect. Deidara could whine and moan about his bombs all he liked—this was real art. Mina regretted the fact that she hadn't been able to see the work in progress—but the idea that she was still able to see the finished work was enough to placate her, and now a smile graced her features. Seeing it, Sasori felt a swell of pride; she was impressed. As her fingers travelled up to his heart, noting the kanji on the cylinder, Mina breathed gently,

"It's incredible, Sasori-sama."

"Without you, I wouldn't be this way," Sasori shot back simply in return, causing Mina's gaze to turn to his, caught in what they saw there and unable to look away.

Neither of them understood what they'd been feeling, and had been nothing but confused for the past couple of days.

But now they knew for certain—it definitely wasn't bad.


	21. Chapter 21

Things almost seemed easier from then.

Sasori and Mina no longer had to fight or resist a lot of what they were feeling, even if they didn't truly understand what exactly what was going on. Even if they didn't truly understand they were _feeling_ something in the first place. A lot was something that had been around the entire time they had known each other, after all, and therefore nothing to be frightened, nervous or uncertain about—it was just the fact it had somehow changed and altered throughout the time that had passed. And alright, there were utterly new experiences that neither had ever expected to come across considering the way they were—being a puppet and how her body functioned—but they had discovered that not everything would be as terrible as they imagined it to be.

Then again, maybe that was because it was towards each other.

When it came down to it, they understood one another better than anyone else could. Although Mina wasn't a puppet, without her Sasori wouldn't have been able to become one, and now that he was, Mina could comprehend the way he was, whether his actions, his thoughts or, well, the remainder of his feelings, in the same way Sasori could comprehend hers. But because of this, the idea that some of their feelings were coming to the surface wasn't so bad; wasn't a problem that appeared insurmountable. If it had been anyone else, it might have been different, but at least this way they knew they weren't about to let their emotions fully out; Sasori and Mina had always been able to tell what the other meant or was going to do by the little things even with how little they used their emotions now.

Those little moments still happened every now and again, but they'd learned to accept them. There was nothing either of them could do to stop them—and in a way, they didn't want to anymore. After Sasori had shown Mina his puppet body, going farther and showing her all the battle adaptions and everything it could do; how it had improved him, it had brought them closer. Though Mina still saw him as her master and Sasori saw her as his apprentice, with her doing things for him and being at his side, it wasn't as prominent as before in the way she acted around him. The way their personalities acted off of each other were more personal and simply friends, on utterly equal terms—being able to be so much more casual around one another in a way that had never existed before.

Mina smirked as she thought about it, walking along with Hidan and Kakuzu, though it was small enough for neither of them to notice, but she couldn't stop it from appearing on her face. Though she had only known Sasori six months back in Sunagakure, it hadn't mattered. They had spent enough time around each other to know one another as if they had known each other for six_decades. _Yet even in that time, they had never acted like they did now. She had been his apprentice, he her master—that was the way it was, and neither of them said otherwise, as it was the way they liked it and accepted it. Maybe if they had tried looking at themselves in a different way…but Mina doubted it. This was something that seemed special somehow. They had been teenagers then, and hadn't understood so much about the world. They hadn't experienced a lot of what they had and trained their abilities to the level of what they were now. But now they were adults and things weren't the same—now they could see things from a new perspective.

If only Mina could figure out just what that was…

But she forced herself to concentrate back on her surroundings. She was doing a bit more for the mission—this time without Sasori for the moment, just Hidan and Kakuzu. They were searching an area of forest on the outskirts of the village, just outside the walls, having spotted signs of a trail, and considering no one else would be around here, knowing it had to be from the group they were after. If they could just find where the trail led, they could group together and head straight to the hideout. Together, taking them down would be pretty easy. The only problem was that so far the Akatsuki didn't exactly know what they were doing in this village; so while to them their trail seemed a little unpredictable, no doubt it had a purpose.

Not that it mattered to anyone right now; they seemed to be just walking around in circles, pointing out things that showed people had been past the area. The group hadn't been hiding their tracks—they didn't need to, considering it was pretty much all civilians here, and the ninjas that were around were like Mina's old group, just passing in and out within a day or two. Nobody stuck around to get a good look and knew they were there, let alone what they were doing. In some ways, it was a blessing, making things easier to do and look for. But otherwise, everything was just plain boring—possibly the idea of it being easier to spot making it worse as they only had to plod along through the forest. Not that Mina complained; she considered it boring, in the same way all of them there did, but it was part of the mission and it needed to be completed, just like any other.  
Hidan, however, didn't share the same sentiments.

"For fuck's sake, Kakuzu, are we done yet? This trail leads absolutely fucking nowhere. There's nothing we can do; why not just go back with the others already?" He burst out, unable to take the silence after about five minutes of it.

Mina was on good terms with everyone in the Akatsuki. Not all of them were exactly the kind of people she liked to hang out with, but she had done nothing to stir up any rivalries, considering Pein had allowed her to stay with Sasori—she didn't want anything to compromise it. But Hidan was…difficult, to say the least. Then again, the majority of people thought that. She had learnt to deal with it over time, answering him if he asked questions and generally being as patient as she could. It was like dealing with a child—give it enough attention and praise and he was happy, doing things for you and keeping his mouth shut when it was needed. Kakuzu didn't act the same, however, as he turned and snarled back,

"No, we're not done yet! We have our own tasks and we have to do them! The mission is absolute! And it's not as if the trail_doesn't_ lead anywhere, Hidan, because it _does._ Take a look."

Pointing, both Hidan and Mina looked to see it winded its way further along, twirling still but getting closer and closer to a certain section of the village wall. Evidently it was around there that the group had come out—but they didn't get a chance to explore further, as Pein abruptly contacted them all, telling them that they needed to regroup. That they had something to talk about. Hidan was more than happy to oblige, turning round straight away, and Kakuzu followed, grumbling at his attitude, but Mina stayed, her eyes lifting to alight on the roof of a building, wires extending every which way from it. With that image, memories came back to her of the missions she had done with her old group; the ones she had done here. She remembered the areas of the village she had gone through to find information they needed; and now it was coming back to her.

They'd gone round that area when searching for info; Mina remembered the buildings. For a moment she closed her eyes, running through them in her head, and came across the one that had caught her interest, even then. It had a lot of activity going on inside of it, ninjas going around keeping an eye out. But the weirdest thing had been the wires; their destinations, she didn't know, but they headed somewhere. Then she had figured it out when one of the ninjas had spoken up to say they'd 'get their message'. They were for communication of some kind. Clearly for just within the village, but all originating from that building. Now Mina knew more, she knew it was the group's building, and they had to be using it to communicate something to the different hideouts in the village. If she could shut it down…

Then Mina smirked in triumph.

It was all coming together.


	22. Chapter 22

"Yo, Mina, hurry it up! We gotta go—thank Jashin!" Hidan yelled in Mina's direction, having now noticed that she hadn't moved from the spot. Kakuzu, too, halted to glance back in her direction, narrowing his eyes at her. Hidan was one thing, but Mina was another. She knew what she had to do, and she did it without complaint. So for her to be hesitating, he couldn't help but think there was something important that was making her do so—or at least something unusual.

He was proved right a moment later.

Abruptly remembering that she wasn't the only one there, Mina realised she would have to tell Hidan and Kakuzu. She realised she would have to work around her circumstances to make the whole thing work. It would be better with the smallest amount of people possible; after all, if the entire Akatsuki went in there, they would no doubt be spotted, found out and a whole lot of trouble would follow. No, they needed to stay subtle and silent. Maybe if they just came…but Mina couldn't help but think that that might not be such a good idea. Hidan wasn't exactly the espionage type. He didn't like to sneak into places keeping hidden and avoiding all battles at any cost—he liked to meet them head on. At the same time, Mina didn't want to _waste_ time by meeting up with the others to take someone else with her.

No; it was better if she went alone.

She was small, quiet and good at able to turn invisible. If she was able to get into Sunagakure without anybody noticing—well, apart from Sasori—then it was a certainty she could do this. She could take care of herself, and the rest of the Akatsuki could head on to the main hideout, dealing with the rest. Mina nodded to herself firmly in acceptance of the plan, now turning and heading over to Hidan and Kakuzu to relay what she was going to do. Though Hidan instantly began to start walking again, Kakuzu remained where he was, knowing Mina had something to say, and as such Mina faced him, stating simply,

"Go on and meet up with them; they're probably moving on to one of the hideouts. I'm heading into the village through that part of the wall."

"What? Just leave you be to do your own thing? We're all here on a mission, and we've just been given an order to help _complete_ that mission. You can't just ignore it. If we _are_ going on to one of the hideouts, we'll be taking it down; we'll need everyone," Kakuzu shot back, narrowing his eyes in irritation at Mina's sudden desire to rebel against orders. But Mina wasn't about to take no for an answer, shaking her head and replying calmly,

"I'm doing _this_ to try and help complete the mission. I remember seeing one of those buildings when on my mission here with my other group before. It's used for communication between hideouts. If you're going to a hideout, if I don't shut it down, they could easily send a message to another hideout and get more backup; either that, or get their men out of there and extend your mission even further. This _needs_ to be done, and I'm in the perfect position to do it. And not to mention…I was an accidental addition to the team, Kakuzu; you'll be fine without me. All the more for you, right?"

Glancing over at Hidan at the end of her explanation, a grin began to blossom over Hidan's face, and pausing for a second, he soon turned to Kakuzu and burst out,

"Come on, Kakuzu, let Mina do it! You know she can—no one ever hears her! Leader won't mind when he knows what's she's doing; it _is_ for the good of the mission, and _we're_ just wasting time _here_!"

Kakuzu's eyes remained on Mina's; never moving as he considered all the options and all that could happen, Mina never blinking or looking away. It wasn't as if he particularly cared about Mina's welfare—even if he did, she was more than a capable enough ninja, and that kind of thing was simple. She wouldn't even be fighting! Leader would be a little surprised, no doubt, but would most likely accept it, maybe even be glad of it, taking into account it would be helping them out quite a lot. Sasori's reaction to leaving her on her own didn't bother him; that was his problem, not Kakuzu's. He wouldn't get anything for it—Mina had chosen to do all of this. It was her plan, and it was clear she wasn't about to let them take her along. Hidan was on her side…

"Alright, fine. But don't expect me to make any excuses for you if Leader isn't happy with your decision."

Mina smirked, shrugging off the idea, and nodding at his acceptance, she thanked him quietly, saying goodbye to them both, before turning swiftly and heading towards the wall. Hidan and Kakuzu watched her for a moment, before heading off down their own path. What exactly she had planned, they didn't know. But she seemed certain of what she was going to be doing, so they doubted they had anything to worry about—well, not that they were going to be worrying.

Maybe _Sasori_ would.

Wondering what his reaction would be when they told him, Kakuzu shook his head, Hidan smirking, but they pushed on. Pein had told them they were meeting in that abandoned building they'd searched the first day they'd arrived and started the mission. It gave them a place to regroup that was out of the way and secluded but still closer to the village than having to go all the way back to the hideout when they were planning on continuing on with the next part of their mission. Everyone was fine with this idea—the village was kinda boring, they'd been stuck here for the last few days doing meaningless tasks and it had seemed as if it wasn't leading to anything. They all wanted out; even Pein—even if he'd never admit it.

It was why they were all a little impatient—Sasori even more so than usual—as they stood inside the courtyard of the building, snapping their gazes round to face Kakuzu and Hidan as they came through the door. Apparently they were the last to arrive, and although Kakuzu knew it hadn't taken them long to get here, for a bunch of people who just wanted this to be over…it was long enough.

Pein walked over to them and gave them a low down of the situation; they were heading to what they knew was the main hideout of the group. They'd gathered all the information they could do, they were prepared as they were ever going to be, and there was no point waiting any longer. It would only drag things out, and for all they knew they could have killed more of their subordinates in this time. It was time to put a stop to these guys and the way they were interfering with the Akatsuki—now all they had to do was head over there and do it. But it was as Pein got to the end of his speech that he finally noticed that something was missing. Or better yet—some_one_. Kakuzu and Hidan and come in, and normally Mina, with whoever she was with, came behind them, her size meaning she was often hidden between the two.

But she definitely wasn't there.

"Mina's not coming, Leader-sama. These guys have a communication tower that work between hideouts, allowing them to tell of threats or things going on in the village and she knows where it is and how it shut it down. When she figured it out, she said we should go on with the rest of you, that she would take care of it and then she headed off before we could stop her."

Pein gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected something like that to happen—but Kakuzu's explanation halted him slightly. The idea of this communication tower was one he didn't like; but if Mina knew where it was and was going to destroy it…he might be willing to overlook what she'd done. But it wasn't like he had much time to make a choice, sighing inwardly and shaking his head as he stated simply,

"Alright; then let her get on with it. We can't stop her now—even if we could, we don't have the time. All we can do is continue on as we are and let Mina handle things on her side; we'll meet up with her later."


	23. Chapter 23

This was not something Sasori wanted to hear.

He didn't doubt Mina's power; he never had done. He had always admired it; been impressed with it from the start back in Sunagakure—he'd been planning on turning her into a puppet to begin with because he thought her abilities were that good. Then seeing even more, finding out about her body and just what was so special about Mina and Sasori had been truly blown away. It was what had inspired him and given him the motivation and the means with which to fulfil his dream and finally be able to turn himself into a puppet. All because of Mina's abilities. With the likes of her fight with Deidara and such, he hadn't worried for a second in thinking she would lose.

But this was different.

Mina wasn't a baby, and neither of them were clingy with each other, regardless of how they felt. When Pein had said he needed Sasori to do one thing while Mina would do another, they had hesitated, liking to stick together—the way it was always supposed to be—but had finally gone along with it all. It had to be done, and it was just for a little while. Sasori hadn't wanted Pein to change his mind about Mina's situation—he wanted her to stay with him, so he figured if he went along with his orders and acted as obedient as can be then he could cement her position in the Akatsuki. It was why he had been so quick to allow Mina to go off. If things had been different, he would have insisted that she stayed with him, the way it had been in Sunagakure, and the way it would be here—no room for negotiation.

If only he'd done that from the beginning.

Because the very moment Pein had pointed out Mina wasn't there, something inside Sasori had lurched, freezing him to the spot. He felt completely paralyzed as he stared at them all standing there, and to be honest…it almost scared him. So many things were firing round his mind, making him feel so many things in a way that he never did and that he didn't understand—and he was barely able to keep control of it all. But at first he hadn't been able to comprehend it all. Why was it happening? Only for Kakuzu to begin to explain why exactly Mina wasn't there—though instead of calming his worries, it only served to heighten them.

After all; he'd heard it all before, hadn't he? It was just like it had been back then. They'd gone on that mission together in Sunagakure, everything being normal like it always was. They'd work together, being part of a team—no, a partnership—that had existed since the very beginning. Then for one moment; a moment that went against everything that their relationship was normally like, they separated to do something for the mission. Mina would say she had a plan; she'd head off into the darkness, disappearing to take down the enemy and help complete the mission by doing her part alone. No one would go with her knowing of her abilities and trusting them, and as such he stayed behind. He waited, and waited, and waited some more—then heard the news that he wanted to hear least in the world. The moment when he thought he'd been separated from Mina forever.

It was repeating itself. She was gone, telling everyone she knew what to do and could do it alone—and everyone believed her. Sasori wanted to believe it too; but the things he hadn't been able to stop himself from feeling lately were getting in the way. The past was something he hated to remember; all it had ever done was cause him pain and regret, taking away the people he loved and cared about—it was only through an utter miracle that Mina had still been alive. But if this was how things were turning out…then it might not be that way much longer. What if something happened while she was there? She couldn't anticipate everything, after all. There could be more ninjas than she knew. There could be anything in that building, and Mina hadn't a clue. Everyone would let her do it, and as usual, the results would be seen…but so would the consequences. But Sasori wasn't about to lose her again. He _couldn't_. He hadn't built up this relationship once more—discovered all this emotion inside of him—for it to be crushed now.

A shadow puppet couldn't exist without someone else there.

And he wouldn't make the same mistake he did last time.

"No."

Sasori's gruff voice was soft; but loud enough for all of the Akatsuki to have heard it, causing them to halt in their journey to leave the courtyard and turn back to face him. Pein took a couple of steps forward to face him properly, waiting to hear what he had to say. He hadn't been sure how Sasori would react—not with how he knew Sasori cared for Mina. Pein had considered the possibility of him protesting the idea of simply leaving Mina behind—and clearly he had been right, saying nothing as Sasori continued firmly,

"I've been through this situation all once before in Sunagakure. On that mission when Mina went off I thought she was _dead._I'm not doing the same thing again. Go ahead to the hideout; I'm not stopping you. But I'm not coming with you—and don't. You. _Dare. _Try to stop me."

Pein met Sasori's gaze head on, not pleased with the idea, but saw the fire in his eyes and knew there was no point; his efforts would only be fruitless. Sasori was willing to go to any lengths to try to help Mina, and he could see that would stretch to fighting back against anyone who would try to physically convince him otherwise. Though there was no way Sasori would be able to win against all of them, it would waste time on a mission that needed to be completed as soon as possible, it would waste their energy, and for all he knew Sasori could land some injuries during the struggle. Not to mention he still wouldn't be willing by the time they dragged him there. Pein could see that there was nothing he could say; nothing he could do that would persuade Sasori otherwise as to his opinion.

But was it so bad to allow him to go? He had six others even without Mina, and they were more than a match for the group, he had never doubted that. Mina was doing something to help them out—one of the reasons why he had allowed her to continue on with what she was doing—so sending back up wasn't such a bad idea. That way it was certain Mina's plan wouldn't fail. Sasori wouldn't let himself get in the way, he could handle himself too, and they'd protect each other. Plus, Pein got the feeling he'd sorely regret it if he didn't and something happened to Mina…

"Fine. Go help her—but don't make a habit of doing this, Sasori. "

But Sasori wasn't listening; he was already getting information from Kakuzu as to where this communications tower was. Though he gritted his teeth at the idea he didn't have a solid location, he now had a general area, and considering its purpose, Sasori didn't doubt it wouldn't take him long to find it. But no one had been expecting him to abruptly unhinge Hiruko with Kakuzu's last words and step out, looking thoughtful as glanced over the rest of the Akatsuki standing there, though they got the feeling it was to do entirely with Mina. Still confused as to why he was getting out of Hiruko, he simply threw a glare at them, stating fiercely,

"Are you going to the hideout, or not? I thought you said you had a mission to complete. We both have things to do—so lets do them."

With that, he disappeared into the trees, the others blinking in surprise that he wasn't about to take Hiruko with him—but Sasori wanted to be as quick as possible. He needed to be able to slip past any obstacles he came across in order to find Mina considering he had no idea where she would be. She had said she had a plan to take down the communications tower and help the Akatsuki complete their mission. Sasori had no idea what it would involve or what she could come up against—but he knew one thing:

He had no time to lose.


	24. Chapter 24

Mina shared his sentiments.

She had headed straight over to the section of the wall where she could see the wires were headed and where she gathered the communications tower would be the moment she had finished speaking to Kakuzu and Hidan. But the only problem—at least for now, anyway—had been getting inside the village from there. She hadn't just wanted to scale the walls and climb inside, knowing that someone would spot her; even if, by some miracle, it wasn't someone nearby, considering the height of the wall, no doubt ninjas placed further away would be able to see her too. So that idea was out the window immediately.

But she had to get in somehow, and had kicked herself several times at how she was wasting time in shutting down the building and helping out the Akatsuki with finishing the mission. Why she hadn't begun planning this part of her 'mission' earlier she didn't know, but now she was left in the lurch, and she had to come up with something quickly. She could turn herself invisible—but what if they had something that would sense her chakra? Then Mina might as well have just climbed up the wall the normal way in complete view of everyone in the village. True, she had a vague idea of the building and the area around it, but she didn't know everything. There was no telling what might be waiting on the other side. But the ninjas from the group had to have gotten in somewhere; they couldn't have had to walk all the way round all the time.

Then glancing down at the ground, she remembered the path that Kakuzu had pointed out, and quickly changing her path, Mina found it once more and continued along it, smirking in triumph as she eventually found it led up to the wall again; but this time with a change. This time there was clearly a line that marked a door of some kind—where the stone could move back in the right circumstances. Naturally, those hadn't been completed and the 'door' remained shut—but it didn't matter to Mina. If she could get Sunagakure gates to open in a weakened state, then she could definitely get these to open now. So building up her chakra in her hands, she stepped forward and up to the wall, placing her hands on the stone and forcing her chakra into it, willing the slabs to move to the side.

It barely took a second before they did so, swiftly shifting to disappearing into the gaps in the wall, leaving a small tunnel for Mina to pass through. She did so quickly, turning invisible immediately and dashing across the street. The further into the village she got, the more she recognised the area, and following her memories and the wires she spotted, seeing that there weren't as many ninjas as she had thought, she soon found the tower, heading straight towards it. Just like before Mina used her abilities to bypass any doors or security measures that were in her way, slipping into the building unnoticed and taking out all the ninja within.

She couldn't risk being interrupted while working.

Though she didn't know the outlay of the tower, Mina first spent her time searching for anything that could act as a map; that way she would know where she could head to shut this whole place down. To make sure that nothing would hinder the others work at taking down the group—Mina got the feeling they were taking down the main hideout. By destroying the tower nothing would get in their way. The group could receive no back up; they wouldn't know anyone was coming or try to gather a force to stop them from leaving when they'd crushed the hideout. But in order to do that, Mina had to find the very core of the building. Just cutting a few wires; blowing a few things up here and there and lashing out wherever wasn't good enough. She wanted to be thorough enough to be certain that her job was complete—and she knew she could do so when she discovered plans on the next ninja she killed.

Opening up the scroll, Mina flicked her eyes over it quickly, discovering a room on the ground floor that served as a core for the entire building, knowing instantly that that was where she needed to go. No doubt that was where she would be able to shut everything down. Although she didn't know what she would have to do when she got there, considering it was the most important room in the tower, there would probably be more ninja around, and either they would have plans, or a little intimidation would be in order. Either way, Mina was certain she could get what she wanted, and as such she sprinted off in the direction of the core, going as fast as she could. She wanted to shut this place down as fast as was possible. That way there was no risk of anything happening to the others.

To Sasori.

So Mina went onwards, discovering the ninja guarding the doors to the core room and easily taking them down. Luckily for her, they had plans of how it worked, clearly being a little too complicated for these idiots to remember off hand. But it meant that Mina wouldn't have to waste time interrogating them, and she passed through the doors into the room, narrowing her eyes at what she saw.

The generator—a huge metal sphere bigger than Mina was—was located at the centre of the room, acting as a battery for all the electrical features of the building, whether lights or the wires and communication itself. When Mina destroyed it, she'd destroy the building completely. But because it supplied the wires with electricity, powering the communication lines, it needed to be constantly working, and therefore constantly powered. In order to do that, the group had created a sort of dynamo (you know, like the torches you power up yourself) function, with metal beams connected from the generator to grooves in the walls which made them spin around the generator to make a constant motion to power it and keep the lines powered. That way they could always send a message from one hideout to the other, regardless of what time it was.

But Mina couldn't let it continue. She had to shut down the generator—and do it fast. Tucking the plans of the machine into her cloak, she observed the way the metal beams span around for a few moments, noting their speed, before hesitating no longer. Jumping forward, she landed on one, darting down its length, pausing only to duck to avoid another as it swung overhead. Once it was clear, she continued on, jumping from beam to beam, timing her jumps carefully and always making sure she was aware of her surroundings: if Mina wasn't careful and didn't pay attention, she could be crushed between two of those beams as they swung past each other, and that wasn't a fate she wanted to end up with.

Determined to finish her mission, however, Mina persevered, and eventually reached the generator, leaping across the last gap until she was on top of the generator. It was here that she pulled out the plans once more, following them until she reached a specific panel in the sphere, lifting it up and peering down inside. Wires connected themselves all over, fuses and electrical gear of all kind having been carefully pieced together to create this generator. But it didn't matter anymore as Mina reached down and yanked apart the wires, pulling aside the panels from each side until she saw what she wanted:

The core within the core. The place where the power gathered within the generator. This was what she really needed to take care of. Raising her hand, Mina gathered her chakra as she aimed it at the core, focusing solely on it, everything else falling away as she focused on this one thing. Then knowing that her power was at it's peak, she released, smirking in triumph as it exploded instantly upon impact, immediately dodging out the way to avoid the explosion. It was clear it had worked; automatically other explosions sounded off, things slowing down and shutting off, sparks firing as the building began to go dark—Mina had completed her mission.

But things weren't over yet. Suddenly things began to shake; the explosions getting louder and more numerous. Mina realised that with that action everything was falling apart—and tensing as she heard an ear-splitting grinding noise, she knew that the same was happening to this room, and that meant only one thing:

The metal beams were about to start moving again.


	25. Chapter 25

This time, however, things were going to be a little more difficult.

Before Mina had been able to analyse the beams; check their speed and how they span, when they might cross and what not. Now, though, they were utterly out of control. With the explosions and the way the building was completely falling in on itself, they were going to be flying around the place, and there was no telling where they'd go. Mina had told herself she'd have to make sure she was aware of her surroundings at all times before…but that was ever more true now. It was the only way she was going to be getting out of this place alive, that's for sure.

But why was the building doing this? She hadn't expected it. True, she might have thought there'd be some sparks, some fireworks…but nothing like this. It was like the generator had been holding the building _up_. Only that was a completely irrational idea considering that was an electrical generator—so why? Was it some sort of morbid joke done by these guys; that if someone ever _did_ manage to take them down that they'd at least try to take them down with them? Or was it just a shoddy manufacturing job? The building hadn't been built sturdy enough to begin with, so with those explosions causing those tremors, it simply couldn't hold itself up. Or maybe Mina had used too much power in destroying the core—that when she had hit it with her chakra, it had caused a chain reaction, sending waves of it throughout all the smaller machines in the building.

If it had been her, Mina was definitely paying for her stupidity now.

But shaking off her theories as to why it was happening for now, not exactly needing to care at the moment, Mina jumped forward, heading for the exit, dodging past falling debris in order to reach it. If she just kept up her speed and remained alert, then she should be able to do it. Sure, the room was big, but she'd only taken her time to get across it before because of the beams. Now there were no rules, no need for hesitation, no nothing. The building didn't seem to be collapsing too fast; just bit by bit, and so she should be alright. Just a little further, and then—

Then suddenly one of the metal beams slumped down, like it was falling to its knees, having given up the ghost, and Mina screeched to a halt, pulling back in a millisecond—the beam falling in that spot a moment after. If she had waited only slightly longer, she would have been crushed. Torn between being thankful for her quick reactions and pissed off at having possibly started this in the first place and at not having noticed it happening to begin with, Mina pushed them aside and began to climb over the beam, being careful of its movements as she did so. It wasn't easy, though, as it constantly shuddered and tilted, forcing her to use chakra to keep her balance—though she only used as much as she dared. If there was anything big that she might need her chakra for, she didn't want to waste it on something like _this._

Then another noise came—something different. This time it was a huge rumble and a crash, and looking round, Mina saw a massive section of the ceiling fall through, being pushed down by machines and rubble from the floors above. But it only acted like the starting force in a line of dominos; with that one slam, Mina clinging on to the beam as it swung round, causing her to jump and dodge the debris that either slid towards her or that the beam tried to slam her into, all the beams started to get going. Everything was going down now, and sensing how bad this was getting, Mina attempted to pick up the pace, gritting her teeth and scowling at the whole situation as she put on a burst of speed for the exit.

But it wasn't quite what she was hoping for. Even if the beams weren't faster than her, they could create enough damage to affect everything. And in doing so, they were sending tremors around the whole room. It seemed like no matter how fast Mina ran or how much rubble she dodged she got no closer to her goal. And there was definitely no point in even trying a moment later as two beams, having made their way across the room, swung round and clashed into each other with more Jashin awful screeching. The force was enough to bring them both to the ground, and though Mina tried to reach it in time, she soon slowed to a halt, only able to watch as her exit was covered up by the beams, knowing if she had gone any closer she would have been snapped in half. Not that things were any better this way. With how the building was falling apart, and now that was covered up—

Mina was trapped.

Pausing for only a moment to think over what to do, she immediately looked upwards. The building was collapsing inwards, the ceilings were falling down—so there were holes up there somewhere. She'd just have to reach them. Clenching her fists, determination taking over her once more, Mina set off, climbing up another beam and running across a section of the wall, before launching herself into the air. This time she used the falling rubble to her advantage; the smaller pieces were still a nuisance, yes, but the large pieces were perfect for her to use as a booster to push herself up further to find a way out. She used her kunai to get rid of anything in her way, searching desperately for an exit.

She could see light coming from places, but could never seem to find the source. Her hearing was affected by the explosions and crashing, and the dust was getting irritating as well. Mina hadn't been searching long, but it felt like she'd been there for hours, going round and round in circles and getting nowhere. Simply blasting a hole in a wall and escaping was becoming more and more of a temptation—but she couldn't do it. The building wasn't stable enough; if she did, the entire thing could instantly just collapse and come down on top of her. But if she didn't find an exit soon, rubble falling on her or an explosion was going to kill her. The dust kept getting in her eyes and making things difficult, and she was using up her chakra. Mina had to do something—but what should she do?

Though neither became a choice.

As Mina landed on a niche in a wall, pausing to look around once again, another rumble sounded out. But this time—this time it was different. It started soft, but rapidly began to get louder and louder, and soon everything was shaking. The rubble in the air was falling apart from the tremors, and looking up as always, Mina saw that even without blasting a hole in a wall the worst had happened. The building had just given out; the walls couldn't take any more abuse. One by one they were disintegrating, meaning that the entire weight of the building was coming down on top of her; and Mina wasn't sure where she had to go. She'd wasted enough chakra, the dust was swirling around so much she could barely see or breathe and she could barely hear from the rumbling. But she had to get out somehow, so she began to build up chakra, wondering if it would be enough to make an exit—let alone get herself out of it.

But she found she didn't have to, as a moment later fire exploded out of nowhere, and the sound of metal clashing with rock—though before Mina could figure out where it was coming from, something wrapped around her waist and pulled her away rapidly, moving backwards and away from all the action, so much speeding past her eyes. But within a few seconds light burst over her and she was staring up at the sky. They remained moving however, the familiar sensation of falling and landing as they got closer to the ground in the back of Mina's mind as she could finally see the building from the outside as it collapsed to the ground. She had no idea who was carrying her or what had truly happened, but she couldn't help but be glad she hadn't had to go through that.

She was carried a little further, until eventually they halted behind a group of trees in the forest and she was slowly lowered to the ground. Now things were starting to catch up with her; she looked down and realised that although there were hands, there was also a metal cable wrapped around her waist—that had been what had yanked her away so quickly. But all of this slowly coming together in her mind, Mina turned and faced him, blurting in confusion,

"S-Sasori-sama?"


End file.
